Apple has once again postponed the launch of its redesigned Siri, according to a Bloomberg report. The company’s virtual assistant has reportedly encountered fresh issues during recent testing, potentially shifting the rollout of several anticipated features from iOS 26.4 to iOS 26.5, expected in May, or even to iOS 27, likely due in September. Initially, Apple aimed to introduce the new Siri capabilities with iOS 26.4. However, that plan now appears to have changed. Engineers have recently been instructed to test the enhancements on iOS 26.5, suggesting the release has slipped by at least one update cycle.

Internal versions of iOS 26.5 reportedly include a settings toggle that allows employees to enable a preview mode for the new features. This hints that Apple could release the update as an early or limited rollout, signaling that the functionality may still be incomplete or prone to performance issues, similar to beta software. Apple first revealed plans for a more advanced Siri in June 2024, showcasing features that would allow the assistant to access personal data and understand on-screen content for smarter responses. Although the company later indicated the upgraded Siri would arrive in 2026, it did not specify a firm launch date. Internally, March 2026, alongside iOS 26.4, had reportedly been the target as recently as last month.

However, further testing has uncovered additional software problems. Siri has reportedly struggled with consistently understanding queries and has sometimes taken longer than expected to respond, leading to the latest delay. The situation remains fluid, and Apple’s timeline could shift again. Apple and Google recently announced a long-term partnership under which Apple’s next-generation foundation models will be built using Google’s Gemini models and cloud infrastructure. This collaboration is expected to power future capabilities, including a more personalised Siri and broader Apple Intelligence features. The revamped Siri is anticipated to introduce several major upgrades, such as chatbot-style interactions, improved personal context awareness, on-screen recognition, and the ability to perform actions within apps without opening them.

Under an initiative reportedly codenamed “Campos,” Apple is working to transform Siri into a more advanced AI chatbot, similar to Gemini. Unlike the current version, which mainly provides short responses and handles direct commands, the new Siri is expected to support longer conversations and more complex queries through both voice and text. The assistant is also set to gain deeper understanding of user data across emails, messages, photos, calendars, and files. Demonstrations have shown Siri retrieving details like a licence number from an image or surfacing suggestions mentioned in message threads.

Another planned feature would allow Siri to recognise and act on what is currently displayed on a screen. For example, users could ask Siri to save an address from a message or set a reminder based on an email being viewed. Siri is expected to execute tasks within apps via voice commands, such as finding an image, editing it, and saving it to a folder, all without manually opening the application.