Finally arriving! It is reported that Apple's upgraded version of Siri AI is officially scheduled for release in the spring of 2026, two years after the announcement

According to Zhitong Finance APP, Apple (AAPL.US) plans to release the long-awaited upgrade version of Siri artificial intelligence (AI) in the spring of 2026, marking a key step in its transformation in the AI field.

According to informed sources, the Apple Siri team is working to launch the revamped voice assistant as part of the iOS 26.4 system update. This long-anticipated upgrade will enable Siri to access users' personal data and screen activity information, allowing for more precise responses to user needs.

Following Apple's internal software development cycle, ".4" version updates (internally codenamed "E") are typically released in March each year, with this year's iOS 18.4 and next year's iOS 17.4 adhering to this pattern. However, sources indicate that the company has only confirmed a spring release window internally, with no specific date finalized yet.

When responding to a request for comment, Apple stated that it has not announced a specific timeline for the new Siri features, reiterating a previous statement that the upgrade plan will be launched "sometime in the next year."

The project timeline remains uncertain. One informed source revealed that if development progresses smoothly in the coming weeks, the company may consider previewing the features at the fall launch event for the new iPhone, but no final decision has been made yet.

This upgrade is indeed long overdue. Apple initially announced the next-generation Siri features at last year's Worldwide Developers Conference, aiming to inject new vitality into the voice assistant, which has gradually fallen behind chatbots and other AI tools since its launch in 2011. The technology under development also includes a system called "App Intents," which will allow Siri to control applications and built-in operations across Apple devices more accurately.

According to the latest timeline, from the official announcement to the formal launch, the new version of Siri will take nearly two years. This delay has attracted significant attention, as its features were included in last year's marketing for the iPhone 16, while the Siri upgrade was far from ready at that time.

Informed sources revealed that there has been a blame game between Apple's internal AI team and the marketing department. The engineering team accuses marketing of overhyping the features, while the marketing department insists it is acting based on the timeline provided by the AI team.

Additionally, there is still an ongoing debate within the company regarding the balance between independently developing AI features and opening them up to partners like OpenAI, as well as discussions about acquiring small AI startups.

Initially, Apple planned to launch the Siri upgrade alongside the new iPhone in the fall of 2024, but it was later postponed to the spring of 2025, with plans to include it in the iOS 18.4 and iOS 18.5 updates. In March of this year, the company announced that the features would be indefinitely postponed to "sometime next year." Earlier reports indicated that the main reason for the delay was a technical failure rate as high as one-third.

The core technical challenge lies in the fact that in iOS 18, Siri's core architecture was split into two—basic functions continued to use the old system, while upgraded functions adopted a new platform. The vulnerabilities arising from the integration of the two architectures forced the team to completely reconstruct Siri.

This crisis triggered a major upheaval within Apple, leading to the removal of AI Senior Vice President John Giannandrea from all consumer-facing product oversight responsibilities, including Siri and the secret robotics project. At this week's developers conference, Giannandrea was unusually low-key, in stark contrast to his high-profile promotion of the "Apple Intelligence" platform last year Insiders say that his influence within the company is declining, and some executives believe he should focus on his strengths in foundational AI research.

The voice assistant project is now overseen by Vision Pro head Mike Rockwell and software engineering chief Craig Federighi. The two executives played key roles in the WWDC product launch, with Rockwell currently leading the development of "Siri LLM" (the internal code name for the new foundational system).

Although Apple announced a comprehensive platform design overhaul this week, it did not launch any significant self-developed AI features, aside from opening up large language models to developers and adding real-time translation for calls/messages, nor did it showcase new features for Siri. Federighi acknowledged at the start of his 90-minute keynote that "this work will take longer to meet our high standards, and we look forward to sharing more progress next year."

The executive team is trying to downplay the challenges in the AI field, stating that the delay of Siri is just part of a grand plan, and that AI success requires years of validation. However, the delay has triggered a chain reaction: reports indicate that smart home hub devices relying on the new Siri have been forced to postpone, causing Apple to miss a good opportunity to expand into new categories.

This wall-mounted/desktop screen device's operating system is deeply integrated with the new Siri features, and the software delay has shelved hardware plans originally set for a March release. More concerning is how Apple's lag in the AI field will affect its future hardware layout. The company plans to launch smart glasses equipped with AI-enhanced cameras next year, but currently, image analysis still relies on OpenAI and Google (GOOGL.US).

Looking towards a longer-term future, Apple is planning a more ambitious Siri transformation project, aiming to upgrade it into an all-day operational smart device assistant and develop a chatbot application called "Knowledge" to connect to the open web. The chatbot project is led by former Siri team head Robby Walker, but his team's capabilities are facing internal scrutiny