Apple’s AI-powered Siri edges closer to launch after year-long delay

Apple’s long-awaited AI-driven upgrade to Siri appears to be nearing release, raising hopes that the company’s voice assistant will soon catch up in the fast-moving race for smarter, more capable digital assistants. A new report suggests that Apple is preparing to roll out its redesigned Siri with a major iOS update expected later this spring.

The new version of Siri was first teased at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in 2024 as a central pillar of Apple Intelligence. At the time, Apple outlined three headline features that would change how people interact with their devices. One is “personal context,” which allows Siri to draw on information stored across a user’s device, such as messages, notes and files, so it can respond without the user needing to remember exact details. Another is “on-screen awareness,” enabling Siri to understand what is visible on the display while a user is speaking. The third focuses on deeper app control, letting Siri perform tasks across multiple apps with a single command.

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Although these capabilities were initially targeted for release last year, Apple reportedly hit major technical hurdles. Engineers ultimately chose to rebuild Siri on a new large language model-based system, effectively re-architecting the assistant to make it more competitive with modern AI chatbots. That decision delayed the rollout but was seen internally as essential for the long term.

There are also signs that Apple may be drawing on outside AI technology to help power the new Siri. Reports suggest that the company is evaluating Google’s Gemini model for certain functions, though requests would still be processed through Apple’s Private Cloud Compute system, which is designed to keep user data secure and inaccessible to third parties.

According to code references spotted by Apple watchers, the upgraded Siri is now expected to ship with iOS 26.4, a release that typically arrives in March or April. If Apple follows its usual schedule, early beta versions could be available within weeks.

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In parallel, Apple is said to be developing a separate generative AI search project, internally known as “World Knowledge Answers.” The feature is intended to compete with tools such as ChatGPT and Perplexity by offering direct, AI-generated responses to questions and may eventually be integrated into Safari and Spotlight search.

While Apple has yet to make an official announcement, the pieces are finally falling into place for what could be Siri’s biggest transformation since its debut. If the spring timeline holds, users may soon get their first real taste of Apple’s vision for an AI-powered assistant built around privacy, context and deeper control over their devices.