According to the most recent issue of the Power On newsletter, Apple is encountering several significant issues with its AI deployment. While this isn’t particularly surprising, it means that numerous planned features are experiencing delays, and technical obstacles are causing certain updates, including the enhanced conversational Siri update, to be postponed.
Delays for Conversational Siri
Late last year, Gurman revealed that Apple was developing a new ‘LLM Siri’ for iOS 19. This new system aims to integrate the two existing backends for Siri into one unified structure. Currently, there are two distinct backends for Siri: one designed for basic queries and another for more intricate requests.
Fortunately, the ‘LLM Siri’ initiative and its new architecture remain on schedule to debut alongside iOS 19. However, it was initially intended to feature a more conversational approach akin to ChatGPT. Gurman has indicated that this element is falling behind timeline expectations and will not be revealed in June as planned.
Additionally, Gurman reports that employees in Apple’s AI division are now speculating that a more conversational version of Siri may not be accessible to users until at least iOS 20.
Regarding the three Siri features expected to launch with iOS 18, Gurman confirms that Apple is still aiming to roll these out in May with the release of iOS 18.5.
Apple Intelligence in iOS 19
Gurman states that internal data from Apple reveals that the real-world adoption of Apple Intelligence is quite low. This indicates that the current features may not be engaging enough for consumers.
Nevertheless, Gurman points out that Apple Intelligence may not see many enhancements in iOS 19:
All indications suggest that iOS 19 will not feature any major consumer-facing updates to Apple Intelligence. A significant factor is the amount of time Apple is devoting to launching features that were announced in the previous year. It’s difficult to progress to next year’s release while still working on this year’s operating system upgrades.
This is quite disappointing, but it is understandable due to the delays in launching promised improvements to Siri. If this information is accurate, it suggests that we won’t witness meaningful new Apple Intelligence features until iOS 20 is introduced in June 2027.
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