Apple is reportedly planning to delay some of Siri’s advanced capabilities. According to a Bloomberg report, the AI-enhanced version of Siri, initially expected to debut with the iOS 18.4 update in April, may now be postponed until May or later.
The report suggests that Apple is considering deferring or limiting certain new Siri features until iOS 18.5, which is expected in May. While Apple had planned to introduce Apple Intelligence-powered enhancements for Siri with iOS 18.4, the development team has encountered challenges in finalising these features. The report stated that many employees testing the new Siri have found that some of its new features do not “work consistently.”
It remains unclear which features, if any, will be included in the iOS 18.4 update. While the update itself is expected in April, Apple may release the first developer beta as early as next week.
Apple Intelligence-powered Siri: Upcoming features
While previewing Apple Intelligence and iOS 18 at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2024, Apple announced these capabilities for Siri:
On-screen awareness: With iOS 18.4, Siri is expected to introduce on-screen awareness, allowing it to recognise content displayed on the iPhone and tailor its responses accordingly. For example, if a friend shares their new address in a Message, you can ask Siri to “Add this address to their contact,” and it will do so without requiring further instructions.
In-app actions: Leveraging a new platform called App Intents, Siri will be able to carry out multiple tasks in both first- and third-party apps without opening them. For instance, you can instruct Siri to find a specific photo, make edits to it, and save it in a chosen folder within the Files app.Personalisation: With Apple Intelligence enabling an on-device semantic index, Siri will be able to interpret emails, messages, photos, calendar events, files, and more.
This will allow it to provide responses based on personal context. For example, if prompted to enter a driving licence number in a form, Siri can extract the information from a saved image of the licence.
Source: These Apple Intelligence-powered Siri features could get delayed until May
