The long-awaited Siri update is about to become a reality. After years of promises, delayed announcements and fierce competition, Apple is preparing to launch a completely updated version of its artificial intelligence-based virtual assistant.
All indications are that it will arrive in early 2026, as part of the iOS 26.4 rollout, which will mean a radical change in the user experience for iPhone, iPad and other compatible devices.
Anxiety about the appearance of the new Siri is justified. According to analysts such as Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, the Cupertino-based company is aiming for a classic calendar: late March or, at most, early April.
This pattern has been repeated in recent years with relevant updates such as iOS 18.4 and iOS 16.4, both released at the same time. The difference is that this time the magnitude of the change exceeds any previous expectations, as it represents Siri’s transition to advanced artificial intelligence based on next-generation language models.
Apple’s update release cycle follows a predictable logic. iOS versions “point four” are gaining weight, from simple minor fixes and tweaks to becoming truly innovative platforms.
For the 26.4 release, the company kept the tradition of releasing the first developer betas in the first two months of the year. Previously, the initial beta version was usually available from January to February, allowing the most enthusiastic users to test new features and report bugs before the final version.
In this sense, developer profiles have already begun to access previous versions of the system, which envisages a large-scale public launch by the end of March. the date is marked as most likely according to the leak and Apple’s usual schedule.
The company’s stated goal is to avoid any delays that could mar the annual WWDC event in June. The focus is expected to be on upcoming iOS 27 features rather than pending promises.
The arrival of iOS 26.4 will mean tangible and immediate changes for millions of people. The first big innovation is the architecture of Siri, which abandons traditional models and uses a system based on large language models (LLM), similar to those used by assistants such as ChatGPT or Gemini.
This technological leap will allow, according to Apple, a much deeper and more accurate understanding of commandsand contextualized and fluid responses.
Three main pillars stand out among the most prominent features:
- Personal context: Siri will have access to relevant information stored on the device, such as calendar events, messages or emails. This will allow the assistant to better understand requests, anticipate needs and offer more accurate answers without having to specify every detail.
- Screen recognition: The assistant will be able to interpret what appears on the screen of the device in real time. In this way, users will be able to request actions directly related to visible content, from replying to messages to searching for information about items displayed in a particular application.
- Deep integration with apps: Thanks to the new App Intents API, Siri will be able to perform certain tasks in native and third-party applications. This includes everything from editing photos in your gallery to sending personalized messages without having to open each app manually.
Apple has been trying to develop an advanced internal model called Project Linwood for years, but the results have not reached the level needed to compete with external competitors. finally the company decided to collaborate with Google to include the Gemini modelsystem with 1.2 trillion parameters, a number that exceeds the capacity of previous Apple models by 700%.
this agreement which is an approximate payout billions of dollars annuallyhas been carefully structured to preserve privacy, one of the brand’s hallmark values. All data processing will take place on Apple servers equipped with Apple Silicon chips and Private Cloud Compute technologies.
The update to iOS 26.4 will gradually roll out to all compatible devicesincluding the iPhone, iPad, and eventually other devices like the Apple Watch and AirPods. In the first phase, the new features will be available in English and some selected languages, with the promise of expanding language support in future versions.
