Apple rolled out the iOS 18.4 beta at the end of February, with the full version of the update expected in April. But forgive us if we're already looking ahead to iOS 18.5.
Typically, this late in the iOS cycle, we'd be thinking more about the iOS 19 preview that's likely coming in the summer, as opposed to updates for iPhone software released last fall. But with iOS 18, Apple has been drip-feeding the AI features meant to be the bulk of Apple Intelligence, with new features arriving periodically ever since October.
A revamped AI-capable Siri 2.0 was supposed to arrive as part of those features, with many suggesting that iOS 18.4 would bring new capabilities to the iPhone's built-in assistant. However, that didn't happen, reportedly because the features weren't polished enough.
Even worse, Blooomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple might be "half a decade" behind competitors like Google and OpenAI when it comes to AI. A more dire window than reports from October 2024 claiming Apple was two years behind on AI.
Nevertheless, we're going to see those Siri additions at some point, and it sounds like iOS 18.5 will be the time. Here's when that update is coming, what it might feature and why Siri has met with these reported delays.
What's coming in iOS 18.5?
So far, all we're really expecting is a the AI-capable Siri and potentially Apple Intelligence support in China.
The revamped Siri was announced during last year's WWDC, and it was expected to be seen earlier. Siri 2.0 promised a number of of new features, some of which are already available thanks to earlier iOS 18 updates.
- New visual animations and a light bar animation redesign (arrived in iOS 18.1)
- Conversational context (or natural language responses) (arrived in iOS 18.1)
- Typing to Siri (arrived in iOS 18.1)
- On-screen awareness
- In-app actions across a ton of mostly Apple apps
Those last two features are the big missing pieces. There supposed to let you use your voice to perform actions instead of opening an app.
Personal context is another still-to-come upgrade. This means that Siri should be more of an actual assistant as it understands context from previous texts and emails or places you've traveled. You could then ask Siri about that content or tell you about meetings.
Much of this is supposed to be powered by a framework dubbed App Intents which will integrate with Spotlight and Shortcuts. An example, here would be a maps app providing instructions pulled from a note in your Notes app and then sending those directions via the Messages app.
Lastly, Siri should gain on-screen awareness, meaning that Siri can understand what you're looking at and perform actions based on what's on the screen.
When can we expect iOS 18.5?
In his report in which he detailed how Apple's AI efforts are lagging behind, Gurman said to not expect to see iOS 18.5 until May. He does not indicate if it will release in early or late May. It's possible it easily slip into June, if Apple continues to struggle with AI.
For those signed up for the developer's beta, that will likely launch in April right after iOS 18.4's full release.
Why has Siri 2.0 faced delays?
In February, Gurman also reported of Siri's troubles, including the likelihood of a postponed update. At the time, he claimed it would likely come out in May and indicated that Apple engineers were struggling with getting Siri up to snuff.
More recently, Gurman reported that when Apple announced Siri 2.0 in June 2024, the company "barely had a functional prototype." Apparently, it didn't become a problem until earlier this year when veteran software manager Kim Vorrath was put in charge of the AI team to get the upgraded assistant in shape.
Gurman blames part of the problem on Apple's belated realization that it needed more resources for AI and couldn't quickly grab enough chips to run AI learning software.
Apple already has a partnership with OpenAI that enables ChatGPT with Siri, though mostly on a surface level. As Gurman notes, currently, Siri has two brains — the old Siri that we're used to and the ChatGPT side for more "advanced queries."
It's been suggested that perhaps Apple needs a deeper integration with a company like OpenAI or Anthropic on a foundational level to help improve Siri.
Just as the company is doing with its iPhone C1 modems that are built in-house, Apple could eventually swap to an Apple developed assistant.
Additionally, Siri might not be fully ready until iOS 19 or even iOS 20, based on Gurman's reporting. Apple could actually meld ChatGPT and the legacy Siri for iOS 19 but that might not actually launch until spring 2026.
Apple is behind, but the question is whether can it catch up. And if it can't, can it create a version of Siri that people want to use?
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