Apple’s Siri Overhaul Faces Another Delay, Now Expected With IOS 18.5 Update Daily Kiran

Apple’s much-anticipated Siri revamp has reportedly encountered yet another delay, with sources indicating that it will now likely be released alongside the iOS 18.5 update, rather than the earlier expected iOS 18.4 version in April. According to a report by Bloomberg, the overhaul, initially announced at WWDC 2024, has been plagued by engineering issues and software bugs, forcing Apple to push back its release.

The delay of the Siri upgrade comes at a critical time for Apple as competition in the artificial intelligence (AI) space continues to intensify. With OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Microsoft’s AI integrations leading the market, Apple’s artificial intelligence strategy has come under scrutiny. While Apple has successfully introduced various Apple Intelligence features in its recent updates, Siri’s much-needed enhancement remains conspicuously absent.

The Siri Overhaul: What Apple Promised at WWDC

Apple had positioned the Siri overhaul as a major breakthrough in AI-powered voice assistance. The revamped version of Siri was expected to feature:

Enhanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) A more conversational and context-aware assistant with significantly improved understanding and response accuracy.
Personalized AI Integration Siri was expected to leverage on-device machine learning to adapt to individual user preferences and behaviors.
Multimodal Capabilities The ability to process both voice and text commands seamlessly, integrating with Apple’s ecosystem more fluidly.
Smarter App Integration Deeper integration with native and third-party apps to allow complex task execution without needing multiple commands.

However, despite these promises, none of these improvements made their way into iOS 18.0, and expectations for their rollout in iOS 18.4 in April have now been dampened by this latest delay.

What Is Causing the Delay?

According to insiders, Apple’s engineering teams have encountered persistent challenges in stabilizing the software for the Siri revamp. The key issues reportedly include:

Software Bugs: Apple engineers have struggled with debugging the AI-powered natural language processing algorithms, which are crucial for the enhanced Siri experience.
Performance Optimization: The revamped Siri needs to work seamlessly across iPhones, iPads, and Macs, but ensuring this consistency has proven difficult.
Privacy and On-Device Processing Issues: Apple has long prioritized on-device AI processing over cloud-based solutions, unlike Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Ensuring this on-device intelligence meets Apple’s strict privacy and security standards has led to further delays.

New Expected Timeline: iOS 18.5 or Later?

Reports now suggest that Apple could push the Siri revamp to iOS 18.5, which is expected to be released in May 2025. However, some analysts speculate that the delays could stretch even further, potentially pushing the feature to WWDC 2025, where Apple is expected to unveil iOS 19.

Why the Siri Overhaul Matters for Apple’s AI Ambitions

Apple has been lagging behind in the AI race, with competitors like Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft making significant strides in generative AI. While Google’s Gemini and ChatGPT have demonstrated advanced conversational abilities and multimodal AI, Siri has remained largely unchanged for years, offering a comparatively basic voice assistant experience.

Apple had positioned the Siri revamp as a key component of its AI resurgence, aiming to make it a truly intelligent assistant capable of handling complex queries and tasks. The repeated delays, however, have raised concerns about whether Apple can truly compete in the evolving AI landscape.

Apple Intelligence: Other AI Features Rolling Out

Despite the Siri setback, Apple has been introducing other AI-driven features under its Apple Intelligence umbrella, including:

Enhanced Autocorrect and Predictive Typing in iOS and macOS
Advanced Photo Editing Tools powered by on-device AI
Improved Spotlight Search for faster and more relevant results
Smarter Apple Notes with AI Summarization

However, none of these features have the same impact as a full-scale Siri upgrade, which remains the most anticipated AI improvement within Apple’s ecosystem.

What This Means for iPhone and iPad Users

For Apple users eagerly awaiting a smarter, more capable Siri, this delay means they will need to wait at least a few more months before experiencing significant improvements. In the meantime, many users have turned to third-party AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot for more advanced voice and text-based assistance.