Apple has encountered significant issues testing the enhanced Siri features planned for iOS 26.4, according to Bloomberg. The company is now spreading the rollout across multiple iOS releases, with some functionality potentially delayed until iOS 26.5 in May and iOS 27 in September.

This setback continues a pattern of delays for Apple's revamped Siri, which was first announced at the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference alongside Apple Intelligence. Originally rumored for a spring 2025 launch, the features were pushed back to iOS 26.4 after internal testing revealed problems with query processing and response times. Apple engineers have been redirected to test the features in iOS 26.5, where personalization and onscreen awareness capabilities are reportedly present but unreliable.

The delays highlight the technical challenges Apple faces in competing with AI assistants from Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. While Apple has partnered with Google for Gemini-powered technology, internal testing shows Siri sometimes defaults to ChatGPT instead. Despite these setbacks, Apple still plans major Siri enhancements for iOS 27, including chatbot functionality to better compete with modern AI assistants.