The Siri Crisis: Internal Testing Reveals Disappointing Performance for Apple’s Next AI
Do Son 
According to Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, Apple’s internal engineers have expressed concerns over the performance of the company’s forthcoming next-generation Siri digital assistant, which is slated to debut alongside iOS 26.4 in early 2026.
Although roughly six months remain before iOS 26.4’s public release—ample time, in theory, for refinement—Gurman reports that the internal testing results “sound less than encouraging.” He further warns that if the highly anticipated version of Siri ultimately delivers only a mediocre performance, Apple may face an accelerated exodus of AI talent from within the company.
In truth, Apple’s position in the ongoing AI race has been fraught with challenges. After mounting external pressure, the company finally introduced its Apple Intelligence suite at WWDC 2024. Yet during the iOS 18 update cycle, only a handful of smaller-scale features—such as Genmoji, Photo Erase, and ChatGPT integration—were made available to users.
Apple had originally promised three major upgrades: a deeply personalized, context-aware Siri, enhanced on-screen intelligence, and the ability for Siri to perform in-app actions on behalf of the user. None of these features ultimately materialized. Following WWDC 2025, software chief Craig Federighi confirmed in an interview that the new Siri had been delayed by approximately one year after failing to meet Apple’s internal quality standards. The company opted instead to rebuild the system’s architecture, targeting a public rollout in 2026.
Reports indicate that Apple’s internal restructuring of Siri has spawned an internal competition between two parallel development paths. One engineering team is focusing on Apple’s proprietary on-device AI model, while another is experimenting with Google’s Gemini AI model, operating through Apple’s Private Cloud Compute infrastructure.
Although Gurman’s report does not specify which model underpins the current early build of iOS 26.4, industry observers speculate that the version causing concern likely relies on Apple’s in-house on-device model. As a result, the final public release may instead integrate Google’s Gemini AI as its core engine.
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