Apple has been promising a smarter Siri since 2024. That promise has now been delayed twice, and the latest reporting suggests the rollout is once again slipping past its target window. Despite inking a multi-year deal with Google in January to use Gemini AI as the backbone of an upgraded Siri, Apple is reportedly struggling to get the final product ready — and the iOS 26.4 update, which was supposed to deliver the first Gemini-powered features this month, is now uncertain.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple had been eyeing iOS 26.4 as the initial release target, with the idea that features would roll out incrementally across future updates. Now the company is working to spread those capabilities across iOS 26.5 in May and potentially iOS 27 in September. Apple has confirmed the new Siri is still coming this year, but has not committed to a specific date beyond 2026.
The deal itself is significant. Apple and Google announced in January that the next generation of Apple Foundation Models would be powered by Gemini — a custom 1.2-trillion-parameter model built specifically for Apple's use, running on Apple's Private Cloud Compute infrastructure to preserve user privacy. The financial commitment is reportedly around $1 billion annually, making it one of the most expensive AI licensing arrangements in the industry. Apple's play was to acquire Google's model horsepower while keeping the experience fully under its brand — Gemini's role will be white-labeled, invisible to end users who will still just see Siri.
The delays reflect something Apple keeps running into when trying to ship AI: the gap between demo-ready and production-ready is enormous at scale. Apple pulled ads for an upgraded Siri in 2025 after the product wasn't ready to ship — one executive reportedly called the timing "ugly." The company's reputation is built on products that feel finished, and that standard appears to be creating friction with the speed the AI industry demands.
The competitive pressure is real. Google has shipped Gemini across Android and its own ecosystem. OpenAI has continued iterating on ChatGPT. Samsung's Bixby is being rebuilt. For Apple, which sits on the largest premium smartphone installed base in the world, a substandard Siri has real consequences — it makes the device feel like it's lagging behind, even if the hardware and software are technically excellent. The Modern Culturalist doesn't just use their iPhone; they live on it. The longer this takes, the louder the perception problem gets.
Whether the delay is the right call or not, Apple's pattern is consistent: promise, delay, and eventually deliver something polished. The question is whether that playbook still works in a market where rivals are shipping every 90 days.
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