Apple recently responded to rumors that Siri's new features may be delayed, making it clear that the relevant upgrades "are still on track to be launched in 2026." Previously, there were reports that Apple encountered difficulties internally when testing the revised Siri, and the new features may not be released as scheduled in iOS 26.4. The news sparked a violent reaction among analysts and the stock market after it came to light on Wednesday.To make matters worse, almost at the same time, Apple was also targeted by the chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over accusations of bias in Apple News.
However, when CNBC reached out to Apple for comment, the company gave a succinct response: "Still on track to launch in 2026." As AppleInsider noted when reporting on the rumor before, there are a lot of doubts surrounding reports of the alleged delay. Apple has always been tight-lipped about its product plans, but occasionally executives share more information than usual when it comes to major events. Whether through statements or earnings calls, Apple executives have been building momentum for the upcoming Siri relaunch.
If there are indeed major delays within Apple, it seems unlikely that the company will continue to heavily promote the product. Initial reports of the delay mentioned issues occurring in December or January of this year, and could even have mistaken internal feature flags as potential indicators of delays. Still, while Apple is not in trouble, its Gemini-trained Apple Foundation Models are certainly coming soon, but in what form they will be is still unknown. Beyond these anonymous tips and leaks, the actual feature set expected to be included in iOS 26.4 is currently unclear.
What's certain is that personalized Apple Intelligence and Siri's ability to use app intent to perform device functions and infer relationships are coming. The feature is even expected to be more powerful than the version shown at WWDC 2024. There are also rumors that the planned Apple Health+ subscription service may have been split into smaller releases, which may be part of the upcoming content. There are also rumors that the 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference will highlight Apple Foundation Models running a more powerful version of Siri.
It looks like not all features will be perfect in iOS 26.4, and Apple hasn't made any promises or announcements other than "coming in 2026." No matter how the internal timeline is adjusted, consumers and investors should not make decisions based on information leaked to the media by a few disgruntled leakers. Expect to hear news about new features in iOS 26.4 soon, as the beta version is about to roll out, which may settle some of the controversy.