Highlights
- Apple is unlikely to showcase a significant Siri upgrade at WWDC 2025 due to delays and leadership disagreements with updates still months away.
- Apple’s AI rollout has faced multiple delays including postponed features like Genmoji and AI writing tools.
- Apple has lagged behind rivals in AI investment and faced internal conflicts, slow decision-making and concerns about whether AI aligns with its traditional product-first strategy.
Caption – Apple users will have to wait longer for AI-powered upgrades in Siri and no announcement is expected in WWDC 2025. (Image credit – Apple)
Apple may not showcase any big Siri upgrades at WWDC 2025, according to a new report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The company’s plans for “Apple Intelligence” are facing delays and Apple is dealing with leadership disagreements, slow decision-making and a cautious approach to AI that’s caused it to fall behind rivals. Here’s what we know based on the latest report.
What WWDC 2025 Might Look Like?
Gurman says Apple is “unlikely” to highlight Siri at WWDC 2025. Major updates are still months away. Instead, the company will focus on launching iOS 19 and gradually rolling out Apple Intelligence to more apps.
Expected updates include –
- A new AI-powered battery optimisation tool
- “Project Mulberry,” a virtual health coach
- A new feature for European users to replace Siri with third-party voice assistants
- Continued work on “LLM Siri,” a long-term plan to fix Siri’s architecture
Interestingly, Apple is planning to separate Siri from Apple Intelligence in its marketing, likely because Siri’s outdated reputation could damage the brand’s newer AI efforts. Apple also wants to avoid announcing features before they’re fully ready, a shift from past launches.
Apple’s AI Journey
While Apple was early to voice assistants with Siri, it has since lost ground in the rapidly growing AI space. Gurman’s report points out that Apple hesitated to invest in generative AI. Key figures like software head Craig Federighi were reportedly “reluctant” to support it, seeing it as a distraction from Apple’s main goals. Federighi believed AI wasn’t a “core capability” and didn’t want to shift focus away from more traditional products.
Other senior execs shared similar views. Some felt that AI requires a big upfront investment with no guaranteed outcome, something that didn’t sit well with Apple’s usual product-first culture. Even though some insiders saw AI as “revolutionary,” their efforts to convince Federighi reportedly didn’t make much difference.
“Other leaders shared Federighi’s reservations. In the world of AI, you really don’t know what the product is until you’ve done the investment,” another longtime executive was quoted in the report. “That’s not how Apple is wired. Apple sits down to build a product knowing what the endgame is,” wrote Gurman in his report.
Meanwhile, Apple’s AI chief John Giannandrea (who joined from Google in 2018) pushed for more investment and tried to streamline the company’s AI efforts. But his plans were often met with resistance too, according to Gurman.
Missed Deadlines for Apple Intelligence
Apple introduced “Apple Intelligence” at WWDC 2023 with features like smart writing tools, improved notifications, custom emojis (Genmoji) and a revamped Siri. The concept was branded “AI for the rest of us,” referencing Apple’s classic Mac slogan.
But most features missed their original launch windows –
- AI writing tools and summaries only arrived six weeks after the iPhone 16 launched.
- Genmoji didn’t launch until December 2023.
- Notification upgrades were delayed until March 2024.
The most anticipated update hasn’t materialised. According to Gurman, Federighi tested iOS 18.4 in early 2025 and found key features like asking Siri for your driver’s license number simply didn’t work. Internal demos were reportedly just pre-recorded videos. As a result, the Siri upgrade was delayed indefinitely.
Despite this, Apple continued marketing these features, which has led to class-action lawsuits accusing the company of false advertising.
Broader AI Struggles at Apple
Gurman’s report paints a bigger picture of Apple falling behind in AI. The company has fewer AI engineers than competitors and hasn’t invested in GPUs as aggressively. Even attempts to buy AI-focused companies like Mobileye Global Inc. didn’t work out. Though Apple developed the Neural Engine as part of its car project, other ideas, like autonomous driving, were ultimately scrapped.
Some insiders described Apple’s AI efforts as a “sinking ship.” Apple’s slow, polished product approach hasn’t meshed well with the fast-paced nature of AI. Longtime executive Eddy Cue reportedly warned that Apple’s dominance could fade. In a recent testimony, he said the iPhone might become irrelevant within 10 years.
Siri was introduced just before Steve Jobs passed away and was meant to be a game-changing feature. Jobs imagined it as a major part of Apple’s future interface. But after launch, Siri became more of a simple assistant, handling basic tasks while Apple shifted focus to things like Maps, Photos, and biometric tools.
Attempts to deeply integrate AI into iOS around 2014 reportedly ran into resistance from Federighi. While Apple bought a few small AI companies like Turi and Tuplejump, its overall AI spending fell short of what its rivals were doing.
Some executives now believe this slow approach reflects Apple’s careful, long development cycles just don’t match the rapid experimentation AI demands.
Gurman concludes that Apple still has the money, talent and brand power to make a comeback in AI but it needs a clearer strategy, more internal alignment and quicker execution. While a stronger AI push is expected eventually, much of Apple’s vision remains a work in progress for now.
FAQs
Q1. Will Apple announce major Siri upgrades at WWDC 2025?
Answer. No, Siri updates are unlikely to be highlighted at WWDC 2025. Apple is facing AI delays and leadership disagreements, and major upgrades are still months away.
Q2. What AI features has Apple delayed?
Answer. Apple Intelligence features like Genmoji, AI writing tools, and improved notifications missed their original launch windows, leading to class-action lawsuits over false advertising.
Q3. Why is Apple struggling with AI development?
Answer. Apple has been slow to invest in AI due to internal conflicts, cautious leadership, and a product-first strategy that doesn’t align with the fast-paced nature of AI innovation.
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