Apple dropped a lot at WWDC25—new features, slick redesigns, and a shiny aesthetic makeover called “Liquid Glass” that has us wondering if iOS now doubles as a skincare routine. But one big promise was mostly MIA: the long-hyped, AI-powered Siri 2.0.
You remember it, right? That smarter, more helpful version of Siri that Apple teased at WWDC24, supposedly capable of understanding your personal life—your schedule, your chats, your app-hopping habits—and acting on them? Yeah, she’s still “in development.” And this year’s keynote gave her less airtime than the new emoji builder.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s software lead (and resident hair model), offered only a brief line: Siri’s big upgrade “needed more time to reach our high-quality bar.” Translation: it’s delayed until 2026 at the earliest. In a world where AI companies ship new models every other Tuesday, that’s not ideal.
Behind the scenes, things sound a bit messy. Bloomberg reports the updated Siri is functional, but only works properly around 66% of the time. That’s a D+. So Apple hit pause, reassigned key leadership (bye John Giannandrea, hello Mike Rockwell from Vision Pro), and started patching things up.
In the meantime, Apple has teamed up with OpenAI to bridge the gap. When Siri doesn’t know something, which happens often, she can now call in ChatGPT as backup. The same tech will also power Apple’s AI image app, Image Playground, in iOS 26.
Still, Apple’s AI ambitions didn’t completely vanish at WWDC. We received updates on on-device models, live translation, an AI workout coach for Apple Watch, Genmoji 2.0, and a revamped Shortcuts app with increased automation capabilities. All cool stuff—but until Siri gets her act together, it feels like the digital assistant space race is being run without her.
