Apple Aims to Launch Revamped Siri This Fall After AI Setbacks [Report]

Apple's push to integrate artificial intelligence into its ecosystem has hit significant hurdles; however, it's expected to release its delayed Siri updates by this fall, according to a recent New York Times report.

The company unveiled ambitious plans for "Apple Intelligence" last summer, demonstrating features like notification summaries, writing assistance tools, and a significantly enhanced Siri capable of integrating on-device information with web data. These features, however, were not ready when new iPhones shipped and faced issues upon their later release. Notification summaries reportedly misrepresented news, leading Apple to disable the feature shortly after its October arrival.

More significantly, the planned spring release for the revamped Siri was postponed. Internal testing revealed the updated virtual assistant was inaccurate on "nearly a third of requests," according to three people familiar with the project cited by the Times. This marked a notable instance where Apple failed to ship a major unveiled product feature on its anticipated timeline.


Following this delay, Apple reportedly made organizational changes. Software chief Craig Federighi is said to have shifted responsibility for developing the new Siri away from John Giannandrea, the company's head of AI, assigning it instead to Mike Rockwell, who leads the Vision Pro headset team. Technology analyst Michael Gartenberg, formerly at Apple, commented on the situation, stating, "If ever there's been an example of over-promising and under-delivering, it's Apple Intelligence."

The report suggests resource constraints played a role in the AI challenges. In early 2023, Mr. Giannandrea reportedly sought approval to acquire more graphics processing units (GPUs), essential for building advanced AI models. While CEO Tim Cook approved doubling the budget, finance chief Luca Maestri allegedly reduced the increase significantly, encouraging the team to optimize existing hardware, according to five people with knowledge cited by the Times. At the time, Apple's data centers were said to possess far fewer modern GPUs compared to competitors like Microsoft or Google.

This lack of sufficient GPUs reportedly forced Apple's AI teams to negotiate for computing time from cloud providers and even utilize alternative chips from Google for some development work, two sources told the Times.

Internal team dynamics may have also contributed. The report mentions a struggle between Robby Walker, overseeing Siri, and Sebastien Marineau-Mes, another software executive, regarding responsibility for aspects of the Siri rollout, leading to fragmented ownership, according to three people who worked on the project. This occurred amid a backdrop of broader talent departures. Adding to the internal picture, the Times report also noted that Mr. Cook, known for his operations background, "has been hesitant over the years to provide clear and direct guidance on product development," according to three people familiar with the company's operations cited in the article. Analyst Benedict Evans characterized the situation as potentially "a breakdown of leadership and communication and internal processes."


Despite these setbacks, Apple has not canceled the improved Siri. The company now aims for a fall release, planning for the assistant to handle tasks like editing and sending a photo upon request, according to three sources familiar with the plans. Some leaders within Apple reportedly believe the delay isn't critical, feeling that competitors haven't perfected AI either, allowing Apple time to refine its offering.

We may get a better grasp on Apple's timeline at WWDC 2025 which takes place from June 9-13 this year. Please download the iClarified app or follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS for more updates.