Apple has officially announced a delay in the implementation of updated artificial intelligence (AI) features for the Siri voice assistant. These improvements were originally scheduled to be available in 2024, but their launch has now been postponed to 2026.

As part of the Apple Intelligence initiative, presented at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2024, the company planned to significantly expand Siri's capabilities. Key improvements included:

• Enhanced awareness of context. Siri was supposed to better understand the user's personal data and context, which would allow it to provide more accurate and personalized responses.
• Performing actions within applications. It was planned that Siri would be able to perform tasks directly within applications, for example, find specific photos or add contacts, based on information from the screen.
• Processing complex requests. The updated Siri was supposed to process more complex requests, using information from the screen and the user's personal data to provide accurate answers.

However, according to Apple representative Jacqueline Roy, the implementation of these functions requires more time: "We will need more time than we thought to implement these functions, and we plan to release them next year."

The reasons for the delay include problems with the performance and stability of the updated Siri functions identified during internal testing. It is reported that some company executives have expressed concern about the correctness of the new features, which may require them to be redesigned from scratch.

This delay puts Apple in a difficult position in the competitive AI market. Companies such as Google and Amazon have already implemented advanced AI functions in their products:

• Google has integrated its Gemini AI model into the latest Samsung smartphone models, demonstrating the ability to process complex requests and provide personalized responses.
• Amazon recently introduced an updated version of the Alexa+ voice assistant, capable of conducting more natural and smooth dialogues with users.

The postponement of the Siri update may affect Apple's competitiveness in the field of AI and voice assistants. Users and analysts will closely monitor the company's further steps in this direction, expecting the promised functions to be implemented in the coming years.