These are tough times for Siri. Apple’s virtual assistant is facing one of the biggest overhauls in its history. It all started with the arrival of Apple Intelligence, the artificial intelligence platform changed its user interface with colorful animations surrounding the screen and a new logo. It also received ChatGPT integration and other new features. But it still has a long way to go to become the assistant we all hope for.
In fact, Apple originally planned to include new features in Siri with the arrival of iOS 18.4. These new features were based on creating a more conversational assistant, so Siri would have more context about our previous requests and be aware of everything happening on the screen.
However, these features have been delayed or postponed until the release of future iOS 19 updates. What’s going on with Siri? The short answer: It’s a mess. The long answer is below.
Siri faces a major internal restructuring
Many Apple employees who have worked on Siri’s software engineering team say the virtual assistant is far from properly optimized and, in their words, is like “a hot potato” that’s passed from one team to another.
Apple has invested many millions of dollars to incorporate artificial intelligence into Siri. But the architecture of its internal structure is causing many problems in its development. As has been revealed on several occasions, Siri’s basic structure is built on a foundation upon the foundation, and it would be much more productive to rebuild its structure from scratch.
In other words, developing Siri’s new features is very complex after so many years of neglect. Apple’s strategy will be to rewrite Siri’s architectural code for iOS 19.
The current version of Siri essentially has two brains: one that handles the most basic commands, like timers or calls, and another that handles more advanced tasks. Apple’s plan is to merge the two parts to bring all the delayed new features to an iOS 19 update.
However, Siri’s internal restructuring will take time. The Californian firm’s virtual assistant won’t be ready for the launch of iOS 19 around mid-September 2025. It won’t be until the release of iOS 19.4 that we’ll have the opportunity to enjoy a much more advanced Siri, although Apple may offer more details during the WWDC25 keynote.
Siri’s architecture has been stagnant for over a decade, and now it’s time to start from scratch. Apple cruelly abandoned Siri, and the company is paying the consequences.
