Apple’s Siri overhaul has once again encounterered problems and could be in for another delay, according to a report by Bloomberg. The features which were announced at the WWDC in June last year were not present with the original iOS 18 rollout and were expected to be released in April with iOS 18.4 but that could be delayed again.
Reportedly, the Cupertino based tech giant is facing engineering problems and software bugs with it Siri overhaul and the new update could be pushed back to May or even later.
With ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini taking the centerstage, Siri overhaul was a key element of Apple to make a comeback in the AI race. While Apple has been able to bring its other set of Apple Intelligence features through numerous updates, Siri overhaul has been conspicuously absent from the list.
Why is Siri so important for Apple?
Siri was introduced as a digital assistant for Apple iPhones back in 2011 and has received many major upgrades since then. While Apple did add support for routing more complex searches to ChatGPT via an earlier update, the voice assistant is still a long way off from where the competition has reached in this ever expanding AI landscape.
In June last year, Apple announced three major upgrades to Siri: Allowing the assistant to tap into customer data to better answer questions and take actions, a new system that would allow it to better control apps and the ability to see content on a user’s screen.
Reportedly, the people testing iOS 18.4 have found that the upcoming Siri features don’t work consistently yet. While iOS 18.4 won’t be released until April, the beta versin for developers could make its debut as early as next week. The report states that Apple will likely push the revamped Siri to iOS 18.5 update in May.
Even when the feature does arrive, it will only be available on the latest iPhone 16 series, iPhone 15 Pro lineup and the upcoming iPhone SE 4.
