Legacy costs: Apple’s AI strategy struggles to keep up with newer entrants like OpenAI

Apple‘s long-awaited Siri 2.0 upgrade faces significant delays as the company grapples with fundamental AI development challenges. While competitors like Google and OpenAI continue advancing their AI assistants, Apple’s struggles highlight the complexities of modernizing legacy virtual assistants for the AI era. These difficulties underscore a broader industry challenge: balancing ambitious AI promises with the technical realities of implementation.

The big picture: Apple plans to release iOS 18.5 in May 2025, featuring the delayed Siri 2.0 upgrade and expanded Apple Intelligence support for China.

Key developments already launched: Several promised Siri 2.0 features arrived in earlier iOS 18 updates.

• iOS 18.1 introduced new visual animations, light bar redesigns, conversational context capabilities, and typing functionality.
• The current version maintains a dual-brain architecture, combining traditional Siri functionality with surface-level ChatGPT integration for advanced queries.

Missing features: Two major Siri 2.0 capabilities remain unreleased.

• On-screen awareness will enable Siri to understand and interact with visible content.
• In-app actions will allow voice control across various Apple applications through a framework called App Intents.

Behind the delays: Internal challenges have significantly impacted Siri 2.0’s development timeline.

• Bloomberg reports Apple “barely had a functional prototype” when announcing Siri 2.0 in June 2024.
• The company faced resource constraints, including insufficient chip availability for AI learning software.
• Veteran software manager Kim Vorrath was recently appointed to lead the AI team’s efforts to improve the assistant.

Industry context: Apple’s AI development appears to be falling further behind competitors.

• Recent reports suggest Apple is “half a decade” behind companies like Google and OpenAI, a more severe assessment than October 2024’s estimated two-year gap.
• Analysts suggest Apple may need deeper integration with companies like OpenAI or Anthropic to improve Siri’s capabilities.

Looking ahead: The timeline for fully realized Siri improvements remains uncertain.

• A complete Siri overhaul might not arrive until iOS 19 or iOS 20, potentially spring 2026.
• Apple may pursue a hybrid approach, combining ChatGPT with legacy Siri features for iOS 19.
• The company continues development on in-house solutions, similar to its iPhone C1 modem strategy.