Apple CEO Tim Cook has finally set a launch date for the highly anticipated overhaul of the company’s voice assistant, Siri. Speaking in a recent interview with CNBC, Cook confirmed that the new, AI-powered version of Siri is officially on track for a release in 2026.
This major update is expected to introduce advanced personalization features built upon the company’s new framework, Apple Intelligence. The updated assistant is designed to be significantly more useful than the current version, featuring greater context awareness, better on-screen understanding, and the revolutionary ability to perform complex actions both within and across various apps on a user’s device.
The software upgrade was originally scheduled for an earlier release date but was reportedly delayed after Apple encountered significant quality control issues during its testing phase. According to reports from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, executives Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak cited “ongoing quality issues” during their post-WWDC interviews as the primary reason for postponing the launch.
The new Siri is now expected to arrive around spring 2026 as part of the iOS 26.4 update. This timing aligns with Apple’s continuing focus on developing AI that prioritizes user privacy. The system is designed to operate primarily on-device for most tasks, relying on secure cloud processing only for more complex functions. This hybrid approach allows the assistant to offer advanced features while minimizing the data shared externally, maintaining a key difference between Apple’s technology and its competitors.
Despite the news, some people raised eyebrows at the announcement, citing several crucial areas of skepticism regarding Apple’s ability to deliver a groundbreaking AI experience. Critics point out that the underlying framework, Apple Intelligence, has already received poor early reviews and consistently struggles with basic tasks that competitors like Google Assistant and Galaxy AI handle easily. If this current performance level is the foundation for the new Siri, expectations should be lowered significantly.
Furthermore, Apple has recently suffered a major brain drain throughout 2025, losing at least 12 key AI team members and executives—including those directly responsible for transforming Siri—to competitors offering better pay and greater autonomy, raising questions about the stability of the development team. Time will tell if Apple will be able to fill the shoes they’ve set for themselves.
*Cover image credit: Nic Coury
[H/T] Phandroid