BREAKING: Apple’s AI-Powered Siri Revamp Delayed Until 2027

Apple’s plans to revamp Siri with cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities have hit another roadblock. Initially expected to be part of iOS 19, the much-anticipated upgrade—often referred to as “LLM Siri”—has now been pushed back to iOS 20, set for release in 2027. This delay has left Apple enthusiasts and industry experts questioning whether the tech giant is losing its competitive edge in the AI revolution.

While Apple has made strides in AI with its Apple Intelligence initiative, Siri’s transformation into a fully conversational and context-aware assistant appears to be struggling behind the scenes. Internal issues, technical complexities, and increasing competition from OpenAI, Google, and Amazon are all contributing factors to the delay.

Siri & Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence is Apple’s grand vision for integrating generative AI across its ecosystem. Announced in 2024, this initiative aims to bring AI-powered enhancements to iPhones, iPads, and Macs. These include improved language models, contextual awareness, and multimodal capabilities. However, while Apple Intelligence promises an AI-driven future, Siri—the centerpiece of Apple’s assistant technology—remains behind its competitors.

The integration of Apple Intelligence into Siri could revolutionize how users interact with their devices. Potential capabilities include:

• Contextual Awareness: Siri could understand on-screen content, allowing users to make more intuitive voice commands, such as “Add this address to John’s contact.”
• Multistep Actions: Users could chain multiple commands together, making Siri a true virtual assistant rather than a basic command interpreter.
• Improved Natural Language Processing (NLP): Siri would be better equipped to handle complex and nuanced conversations without frustrating misunderstandings.

Despite these promising features, Apple is struggling to bring them to market in a timely manner.

Why Is Apple Struggling to Upgrade Siri?

Reports indicate that Apple’s AI division has faced internal turbulence, including leadership struggles and a shortage of necessary resources. Unlike competitors such as OpenAI and Google, Apple has traditionally been more secretive about its AI initiatives, which has led to a slower development cycle.

Moreover, Apple has reportedly lost key AI talent to rivals, further complicating its efforts to integrate LLM (Large Language Models) into Siri. While Apple Intelligence is expected to debut in iOS 18.5, the true AI-powered Siri won’t arrive until at least iOS 20.

Technical Complexity

One of Apple’s biggest hurdles is the outdated architecture of Siri. Currently, Siri relies on two separate systems—one handling simple commands and another managing complex queries. Unlike its competitors, Apple has struggled to unify these components into a single, seamless AI-driven assistant.

For Siri to compete with models like ChatGPT, Apple must overhaul its infrastructure to support on-device AI processing. While Apple Intelligence promises a mix of cloud and on-device processing, the level of integration required for an AI-powered Siri is proving to be a monumental challenge.

A Race Between OpenAI, Google, and Amazon

While Apple works through its internal AI struggles, competitors are advancing rapidly. OpenAI’s ChatGPT continues to set benchmarks for conversational AI, while Google’s Gemini and Amazon’s Alexa have become more powerful and feature-rich.

Google’s Gemini AI, for example, has already been integrated across various services, offering real-time summarization, advanced search capabilities, and superior contextual understanding. Amazon’s Alexa has also taken strides in conversational AI, enabling seamless voice interactions across smart home devices.

The longer Apple delays Siri’s major AI upgrade, the more it risks losing ground to competitors who are aggressively rolling out new features. Apple Intelligence will undoubtedly improve various aspects of iOS and macOS, but without a modernized Siri, Apple may struggle to position itself as a leader in AI-driven virtual assistants.

When Can We Expect a Smarter Siri?

While Siri will receive some improvements with iOS 18.4 and iOS 18.5, these updates will mostly focus on UI tweaks, minor AI enhancements, and Apple Intelligence refinements. According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Apple has been struggling with stability issues in its AI models, leading to repeated internal delays.

Initially, Apple Intelligence was expected to be a major component of iOS 18, but many of its advanced capabilities have been postponed due to unforeseen engineering challenges and ongoing refinements to Apple’s on-device AI infrastructure.

Gurman notes that Apple has encountered major hurdles in optimizing Siri’s AI-driven responses, particularly in ensuring they work reliably across different devices. The company has also faced issues balancing AI processing between cloud-based computation and on-device efficiency, which is crucial for maintaining Apple’s privacy-first approach.

Apple is now reportedly planning an LLM-powered Siri update in late 2025 as an interim step, but the full transformation is not expected until iOS 20 in 2027! The company remains cautious, prioritizing stability & privacy over rushed releases, but the repeated delays raise concerns about whether Apple can keep up with the fast-moving AI market. With rivals like OpenAI and Google continuously innovating, the pressure is on for Apple to deliver a truly revolutionary AI-driven Siri sooner rather than later.

Final Thoughts

Apple has a history of arriving late to the party but ultimately delivering polished, industry-defining products. While its AI efforts may be behind schedule, the company’s emphasis on privacy-focused, on-device AI could set it apart in the long run.

However, with Google, OpenAI, and Amazon advancing at breakneck speed, Apple must accelerate its development to remain competitive. The AI landscape is evolving rapidly, and Apple’s ability to bring a next-generation Siri to market will be critical to its future success in the AI space.

For now, Apple fans will have to wait until at least 2027 to see if Siri can finally live up to its AI-powered potential.