Apple has confirmed that its long-delayed Siri upgrade is still on the way — though users will have to wait until 2026 for it to arrive.
During the company’s latest earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said Apple is “making good progress” on the upgraded assistant and remains “on track” to release it in 2026. That’s a typically vague update, and well over a year later than promised, but at least it shows Apple hasn’t quietly abandoned its efforts.
First announced back at WWDC 2024, the so-called Siri 2.0 was supposed to introduce smarter, more personal features including screen awareness, app integration, and contextual understanding of messages and emails. But those upgrades have yet to arrive, leaving users stuck with the same old Siri that still struggles to answer basic questions.
Apple’s cautious approach could still pay off. By keeping processing largely on-device, it has the chance to offer an AI experience that’s private and secure – something many users would prefer over morally questionable alternatives that steal content and harvest data.
That said, Apple seems to have accepted this approach can’t offer the same capabilities as other AIs. Siri already offers the ability to hand off complex queries to ChatGPT, and Cook teased plans to integrate with more AI providers over time. It’s not the kind of news that’ll thrill casual users, but it does suggest Apple wants to keep things flexible.
For now, though, Siri remains miles behind the competition. The hope is that when the long-overdue update finally lands, Apple’s patience will prove worth it.