Apple’s Siri saga is at the point of no return

At a certain point, disappointment gives way to fatalism. Last week, it emerged that Apple’s long-awaited Siri revamp has been delayed yet again, and my first reaction was to wonder if this even counted as news. Surely by now we’ve accepted that the new Siri is a phantasm, a trick of the light, a mythical creature like the Loch Ness Monster? Expecting it to actually launch would be as laughably naive as Charlie Brown expecting Lucy not to pull away the football at the last second.

Of course, being bleakly inevitable doesn’t actually disqualify something from being news. We all know Craig Federighi will appear in a painful comedy sketch at this year’s WWDC, but that doesn’t mean our liveblog will be able to go dark for three minutes and pretend it’s not happening. And while it isn’t surprising that New Siri has been pushed back to May or September (if you believe the updated estimates, which I advise against), it’s definitely a big deal.

Siri has been very bad for a very long time (stop me if I’m getting too technical) and, through multiple OS updates, has shown little sign of getting better. It’s unreliable, overeager, and equipped with fewer features than rival voice assistants. And it’s baked into almost every product Apple sells.

Every iPhone owner out there, every Apple Watch user, every Mac fan and HomePod enjoyer is continually reminded that the biggest tech company in the world hasn’t been able to get voice right. And if Apple can’t be trusted to do that, is it wise to lock oneself into its walled garden?

The company first claimed it was going to fix Siri, albeit not in those words, at WWDC 2024 (the one where Federighi skydived into Apple Park wearing a helmet that looked like his hair). We were told Siri would become contextually aware, able to search emails, messages, personal data, and more to better understand what it’s being asked. And this was supposed to happen as part of the iOS 18.0 update, alongside the launch of the iPhone 16. Needless to say, we’re still waiting.

That initial iOS 18 plan was bumped to iOS 18.4, then to iOS 26, then to iOS 26.4. Now sources point to either iOS 26.5 or iOS 27, which rolls out in the fall and would mark two full iPhone generations since we were first shown actual TV ads of New Siri supposedly in action. Which, it has to be said, isn’t really good enough.

Because this isn’t just about an imperfect user experience in the present. This is about building trust in Apple’s capacity to improve it in the future. Buying an iPhone is a big-ticket investment in a computing platform that will (or at least should) evolve significantly over the likely three to five years it will last. It’s a costly leap of faith, and requires a great deal of trust in a company’s ability to innovate, not to mention its judgment.

What if you buy an iPhone and Apple updates iOS in a way that makes it borderline unreadable? What if important first-party apps become riddled with ads? And what if the desperately needed software revamp that was promised when you first bought the phone just keeps getting delayed and delayed? It might just make you rethink your plan to buy another iPhone in the future.

So it’s vital Apple gets this right, and soon. But at this point, sadly, that would be more of a surprise than yet another delay.

Welcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but it’s cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.

Trending: Top stories

Remember all those predictions that Android tablets would overtake the iPad? The Macalope remembers. But now it’s time to be realistic and accept that the iPad won.

Oh dear. Apple just can’t get Siri working right. The big new update scheduled for next month is now going to be spread out over the rest of the year.

Well it only took two years, but there’s finally an official YouTube app for Vision Pro. And it’s a reminder that spatial computing still sucks.

Apple’s highest-end stylus packs a ton of advanced features iPad users will appreciate. Here are 5 cool Apple Pencil Pro features you probably don’t know.

After upgrading to macOS 26.2, things started to go wrong with Michael Simon’s Time Capsule. Now he has a drive that won’t work with his Mac.

Longtime utility MacUpdater has shut down due to a refusal to switch to a recurring payment model. Leading Alex Blake to complain that subscription culture put his Mac at risk.

Podcast of the week

Apple is expected to release several products over the next few weeks. What products could that be? We talk about it all on the latest episode of the Macworld Podcast.

You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud, the Podcasts app, or our own site.

Reviews corner

The rumor mill

New Macs are coming soon, according to a new report. For real this time!

Sorry folks, Liquid Glass isn’t going anywhere. Instead of a new look, or lots of new features, iOS 27 will reportedly focus on fixes.

‘Dried out’ iPhone 16e stock points to imminent launch of 17e.

Apple’s cheapest iPad may soon be getting an AI upgrade.

Video of the week