The Siri Crisis: Internal Testing Reveals Disappointing Performance for Apple’s Next AI

According to Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter, Apple’s internal engineers have voiced concerns over the performance of the forthcoming next-generation Siri, slated to debut alongside iOS 26.4 in early 2026. With roughly six months remaining before the public release, Gurman reports that the internal testing results sound less than encouraging, warning that a mediocre outcome could prompt an accelerated exodus of AI talent from within Apple.

The piece notes that after WWDC 2024 Apple introduced its Apple Intelligence suite, but during the iOS 18 update cycle only a handful of smaller features were made available. Following a statement by software chief Craig Federighi that the new Siri had been delayed by about one year after failing to meet internal quality standards, Apple opted to rebuild the system’s architecture for a 2026 public rollout.

Reports indicate a competition between two parallel development paths—one on Apple’s on-device AI model and another experimenting with Google’s Gemini AI via Apple’s Private Cloud Compute infrastructure, with industry observers speculating the final engine could be Gemini.