When is the new AI Siri coming out?

Apple originally planned to release the AI-powered Siri with iOS 26.4 in March 2026, but it has been delayed. Some features may arrive with iOS 26.5 around May 2026, with the full experience expected in iOS 27 in September 2026.

What AI model powers the new Siri?

The new Siri will be powered by Google's Gemini AI models. Apple reportedly signed a multi-year deal worth around $1 billion per year for this integration.

Which iPhones will support the new AI Siri?

iPhone 16 and newer models will get the full AI-powered Siri experience. Older iPhone models will receive a limited version of the features.

What can the new Siri do that the old one can't?

The new Siri will understand on-screen context, work seamlessly across apps, pull information from emails and messages, and process images, text, and voice together using multi-modal AI capabilities.

Apple's AI Siri Keeps Getting Delayed - Here's What's Really Going On With iOS 26.4

If you’ve been waiting for Apple to finally make Siri not terrible, I’ve got some news. And it’s not great.

Apple was supposed to drop a completely revamped, AI-powered Siri with the iOS 26.4 update this month. The whole thing was going to be powered by Google’s Gemini models – yeah, Apple literally partnered with Google on this one – and it was supposed to make Siri actually understand context, work across apps, and not just set timers all day.

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So What Happened to the New Siri?

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple hit some serious snags during internal testing. The new Siri wasn’t performing consistently enough to ship. Some features that were supposed to land in iOS 26.4 are now getting pushed to iOS 26.5 (expected around May), and others might not show up until iOS 27 in September.

This isn’t the first delay either. Apple originally teased these AI capabilities at WWDC last year, and we’ve been hearing “it’s coming soon” for months now. At this point, “soon” is doing a lot of heavy lifting.

What the New Siri Was Supposed to Do

Here’s what makes this frustrating – the features actually sound useful:

The new Siri would understand on-screen context. So if you’re looking at a restaurant in Maps, you could say “text my wife about this place” and Siri would know what you meant. It would pull flight info from your emails, grab reservation details from Messages, and basically be the cross-app assistant we’ve wanted for years.

Apple’s reportedly paying Google around $1 billion per year for the Gemini integration. That’s not pocket change, even for Apple. The deal supposedly covers multi-modal understanding – meaning Siri could process images, text, and voice together.

When Will We Actually Get It?

Best case scenario: some features land in iOS 26.5 around May 2026. The full experience probably won’t be ready until iOS 27 drops in September at the earliest.

If you’re on an iPhone 16 or newer, you’ll get the full experience. Older iPhones will get a stripped-down version, which honestly tracks with how Apple does things.

Should You Care?

Look, I use Siri mostly for timers and alarms. If Apple actually delivers on context-aware cross-app integration, that changes things significantly. But after this many delays, I’d say temper your expectations and don’t hold your breath for the March update.

The silver lining? Apple taking more time usually means a more polished product. I’d rather wait a few extra months than deal with a half-baked assistant that misunderstands every other command.