Apple’s WWDC 2025: Big Updates, But No Smarter Siri
At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2025, the tech giant showcased a range of exciting updates to its ecosystem. From the sleek new “Liquid Glass” interface to a rebranded naming convention for its operating systems, Apple didn’t disappoint in visual polish and system refinement. However, one major update that fans and tech watchers eagerly anticipated was notably absent: the long-promised AI-powered, more personalized Siri.
Siri AI Update Delayed Again
Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, briefly mentioned Siri during the keynote, stating,
“As we’ve shared, we’re continuing our work to deliver the features that make Siri even more personal. This work needed more time to reach our high-quality bar, and we look forward to sharing more about it in the coming year.”
This statement confirmed what many suspected: the smarter Siri won’t be launching anytime soon. In fact, Apple has hinted it may not arrive before 2026 — a significant delay in today’s fast-moving AI landscape.
What Was Promised for Siri?
Back at WWDC 2024, Apple revealed ambitious plans for Siri. The virtual assistant was expected to understand personal context — your daily routines, relationships, communications, and app interactions — making it feel more intelligent and truly helpful. It was also expected to support deeper in-app actions and cross-app functionality.
Unfortunately, according to a report by Bloomberg, the in-development version of this new Siri only worked correctly about two-thirds of the time, failing to meet Apple’s high reliability standards.
Leadership Shake-Up Signals Challenges
In March 2025, Apple officially announced delays in the Siri upgrade and made a major internal change: John Giannandrea, Apple’s head of Machine Learning and AI Strategy, was pulled off the project. He was replaced by Mike Rockwell, who previously led the Vision Pro team.
This leadership shift was seen as Apple’s attempt to realign its AI efforts after setbacks, and possibly as an admission that its AI strategy had fallen behind rivals like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.
Apple Turns to OpenAI for Help
To bridge the AI capability gap, Apple formed a partnership with OpenAI. Starting with iOS 26, when Siri is unable to answer a user query, it can now redirect to ChatGPT for more intelligent responses. Additionally, Apple’s AI-powered image generation tool, Image Playground, is now integrated with ChatGPT as well.
Other AI Features Unveiled at WWDC 2025
Despite the Siri delay, Apple did introduce several other AI innovations at WWDC 2025, including:
Developer access to on-device foundation models
Live translation features across apps
Genmoji enhancements for creating personalized emojis
Image Playground upgrades powered by ChatGPT
Visual Intelligence improvements for recognizing content on screen
An AI “Workout Buddy” for Apple Watch fitness support
AI-powered Xcode tools to assist developers
An upgraded Shortcuts app with smarter automation and scripting features
Looking Ahead: Will Siri Catch Up?
The absence of a smarter Siri in 2025 may frustrate users and concern investors, especially as competitors race ahead with rapid-fire AI improvements. Apple’s cautious approach — prioritizing quality over speed — could ultimately pay off, but in the short term, it underscores just how far behind the company is in AI personalization.
Until then, users will need to rely on integrations like ChatGPT to fill in the gaps while Apple continues to refine its flagship voice assistant.
