Apple’s Siri crisis: How internal chaos and rushed AI ambitions are leading to embarrassing delays

Apple is grappling with internal turmoil and industry criticism over significant delays to key Siri features, with senior executive Robby Walker calling the situation "ugly and embarrassing" during an all-hands meeting on Friday, according to Bloomberg.

The company had aimed to roll out the updates this spring, but they are now expected no sooner than next year. During the meeting, Walker acknowledged employee frustration, citing anger, disappointment, and burnout over the setbacks.

Earlier in March, Apple announced a delay in its AI-powered Siri enhancements, adding to investor concerns. The company’s stock had fallen 16% this year through Thursday. However, the stock closed at $214 on Monday, up 0.24% from its previous close.

During the town hall of the company’s Siri division, Walker acknowledged the team's struggles, calling it a difficult period. He admitted that Apple’s premature decision to publicly promote unfinished AI-powered enhancements had worsened the situation, describing the setbacks as “ugly” and “embarrassing.” Despite ongoing engineering issues and software bugs, Apple's marketing team pushed ahead with promotional campaigns, including TV commercials, starting last year—exacerbating internal frustration.

The company first unveiled the AI capabilities at last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), but behind the scenes, the technology was still in a barely functional state. The features, designed to make Siri a more intelligent personal assistant by leveraging user data and improving app control, were even promoted as a key selling point for the upcoming iPhone 16, despite ongoing development issues.

Walker said it remains unclear when the features will actually launch. He cast doubt on whether Apple would even meet the 2025 deadline, warning that competing priorities could force trade-offs.

Apple's struggles with its AI-powered Siri enhancements were apparent from the start, with delays piling up and vague timelines raising doubts. Initially planned for release in iOS 18.5 this spring, the features have now been pushed to iOS 19 in 2025—if they arrive at all.

Siri—already seen as lagging behind competitors—has become a symbol of Apple’s difficulties in the AI race. Walker’s remarks underscored Apple’s ongoing crisis, as rivals like Google and OpenAI continue to push ahead with more advanced virtual assistants. Persistent engineering issues and software bugs have further complicated efforts to modernise Siri.

Walker emphasised that there is “intense personal accountability” for the situation, shared by John Giannandrea, software chief Craig Federighi, and other top executives. Apple is not expected to make immediate leadership changes in response to its AI struggles, though internal restructuring discussions are reportedly underway. The company has brought in longtime executive Kim Vorrath to help steer the turnaround, and more senior figures may soon be placed under Giannandrea, Apple’s head of AI.

Yet, Walker ended the meeting on an optimistic note, vowing that Apple would “ship the world’s greatest virtual assistant.” He praised the Siri team for their dedication, saying they had “poured their hearts and souls” into the project and made “incredible progress together.”

To showcase that progress, Walker demonstrated new features in development, including Siri’s ability to retrieve personal information, control applications more effectively, and analyse on-screen content. However, he admitted that the technology remains unreliable, working correctly only 66–80% of the time—below Apple’s quality standards. This shortfall ultimately drove the decision to delay the release.

Comparing the effort to an ambitious swim to Hawaii, Walker acknowledged the team’s progress while noting that they hadn’t yet reached their final goal.

Despite the delays, Apple has met other Siri-related milestones, including launching a Type-to-Siri interface in iOS 18, improving Apple product knowledge, and enhancing Siri’s understanding of customers. Next month, the company plans to expand Apple Intelligence to several new languages. Looking ahead, Apple is planning major Siri upgrades for 2027, aiming to make it more conversational and competitive with AI chatbots from rivals.