A new report says Apple is pushing back some of its Gemini-powered Siri features that were originally expected in iOS 26.4. Instead of one big upgrade, the rollout may now stretch into iOS 26.5 or even iOS 27 later this year.
Not exactly the glow-up Siri fans were hoping for.
What was supposed to happen?
Apple had been eyeing iOS 26.4, expected around March, as the release window for major Siri upgrades powered by Google’s Gemini AI models.
Now, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman:
- Some features may move to iOS 26.5 in May
- Others could slip all the way to iOS 27 in September
Apple has only officially said the features are coming this year. So technically nothing is “late.” But clearly, internal timelines are shifting.
Suggested: Apple Releases iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3 to the Public
The features most likely to slip
The most ambitious change appears to be the most at risk.
Siri tapping into your personal data
This upgrade would allow Siri to:
- Search old text messages
- Find content shared by friends
- Instantly act on it
Imagine asking Siri to find that podcast your friend texted you three weeks ago and playing it immediately. That kind of contextual awareness is a big leap from today’s Siri.
And honestly, it sounds complicated. So delays are not shocking.
In-app voice control is also behind
Another feature reportedly running late is deeper voice-based control inside apps.
This would let Siri perform complex actions within apps using natural language. It is still expected to arrive during the iOS 26 cycle, just possibly not as early as 26.4.
Why the delays?
Apple only finalized its deal to use Google’s Gemini AI models in January. Before that, it was weighing:
- Its own internal models
- Anthropic
- Google Gemini
That late decision likely compressed development time. Integrating third-party AI at this level is not plug-and-play.
The 404 take
Purists already think Siri is years behind. So hearing about delays does not help confidence.
But I would rather Apple ship a stable, well-integrated AI assistant than rush something half-baked. If this becomes a foundational reset for Siri, spreading it across multiple updates makes sense.
Still, if you were counting on iOS 26.4 to finally make Siri feel modern, this is a small buzzkill. The bigger shift may come with iOS 27, where Apple reportedly plans to make Siri behave more like a true chatbot.
That is when things could really get interesting.
