LLM Siri: The Complete Guide to Apple's AI Assistant Overhaul Coming in 2026

Apple is developing a new version of Siri that's supposed to be better than the existing ‌Siri‌ in every way. It will be smarter and able to do more, functioning like ChatGPT or Claude instead of a barely competent 2012-era smartphone assistant.

Upgrading ‌Siri‌ hasn't been without hiccups, and it's been delayed once. We've rounded up everything we know about Apple's work on a more capable ‌Siri‌ that uses large language models.

LLM Siri

The next-generation version of ‌Siri‌ will use advanced large language models, similar to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI chatbots.

LLM ‌Siri‌ would be able to hold continuous conversations and provide human-like responses to questions, plus the assistant would be capable of completing more complex tasks.

Apple Intelligence Siri Delays

In what became an infamous move, Apple went all-in showing off a smarter, Apple Intelligence-powered version of ‌Siri‌ when it showed off iOS 18 at the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Apple also highlighted advanced Apple Intelligence ‌Siri‌ features when the iPhone 16 models launched, but after months of customers waiting for the new feature set, Apple said that it wouldn't be coming.

In March 2025, Apple said that the ‌Apple Intelligence‌ ‌Siri‌ features that it expected to introduce in ‌iOS 18‌ would not be coming in iOS 18 at all. Apple said that ‌Siri‌ would not be ready until 2026.

The Siri Features That Got Pushed Back

The ‌Siri‌ functionality that was delayed wasn't even the LLM version of ‌Siri‌ that had been rumored. It was an in-between model that was smarter, but without full chatbot capabilities. Here's what we're waiting on:

Personal Context

With personal context, ‌Siri‌ will be able to keep track of emails, messages, files, photos, and more, learning more about you to help you complete tasks and keep track of what you've been sent.

Show me the files Eric sent me last week.

Find the email where Eric mentioned ice skating.

Find the books that Eric recommended to me.

Where's the recipe that Eric sent me?

What's my passport number?

Onscreen Awareness

Onscreen awareness will let ‌Siri‌ see what's on your screen and complete actions involving whatever you're looking at. If someone texts you an address, for example, you can tell ‌Siri‌ to add it to their contact card. Or if you're looking at a photo and want to send it to someone, you can ask ‌Siri‌ to do it for you.

Deeper App Integration

Deeper app integration means that ‌Siri‌ will be able to do more in and across apps, performing actions and completing tasks that are just not possible with the personal assistant right now. We don't have a full picture of what ‌Siri‌ will be capable of, but Apple has provided a few examples of what to expect.

Moving files from one app to another.

Editing a photo and then sending it to someone.

Get directions home and share the ETA with Eric.

Send the email I drafted to Eric.

Siri Redesign

We got more context on what went wrong with ‌Siri‌ when Apple introduced iOS 26 and Apple executives did a series of interviews to explain the situation.

Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that the first-generation architecture that Apple was developing for the personalized ‌Siri‌ features ended up being too limited. ‌Siri‌ was not able to match Apple's high standards, and by spring 2025, Apple realized that it needed to transition ‌Siri‌ to the second-generation architecture (aka the LLM version of ‌Siri‌) that it had been planning.

With Apple abandoning the first-generation ‌Siri‌ architecture it had been working on, the new ‌Siri‌ features had to be delayed until the second-generation architecture was ready.

In an all-hands meeting in August, Federighi told employees that Apple had attempted to merge two separate systems, and it didn't work out. Apple had one system for handling current commands and another based on large language models. Federighi said Apple realized that the hybrid approach was not going to work.

Federighi said that Apple has successfully revamped ‌Siri‌, and it's going to be a bigger update than expected. 'The work we've done on this end-to-end revamp of ‌Siri‌ has given us the results we needed,' Federighi told employees. 'This has put us in a position to not just deliver what we announced, but to deliver a much bigger upgrade than that we envisioned.'

Internal Restructuring

The misstep with ‌Siri‌'s debut and the failure of the hybrid architecture led Apple to restructure its entire AI team. Apple AI chief John Giannandrea was removed from the ‌Siri‌ leadership team, with Vision Pro chief Mike Rockwell taking over instead.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was no longer confident in Giannandrea's ability to oversee product development. Rockwell reports to Federighi, and Federighi told employees that the new leadership has 'supercharged' ‌Siri‌ development.

Apple has also struggled with retaining AI employees amid the ‌Siri‌ issue and recruitment strategies from companies like Meta. Meta poached several key AI engineers from Apple, offering pay packages as high as $200 million. At Apple's August all-hands meeting, Cook and Federighi aimed to reassure employees that AI is of the utmost importance to the company. 'There is no project people are taking more seriously,' Federighi said of ‌Siri‌.

Cook said that Apple will 'make the investment' to be a leader in AI.

Apple's LLM or a Partnership?

Part of the reason that Apple is seeing low morale among its AI employees is rumors that an Apple-designed large language model that's in development might be sidelined.

Apple is rumored to be considering a partnership with ChatGPT creator OpenAI or Claude creator Anthropic to power the smarter version of ‌Siri‌. Both companies are reportedly training versions of their models that would work with Apple's Private Cloud Compute servers, and Apple is running tests with both its own models and models from outside companies. No final decision on ‌Siri‌ has been made as of yet.

Partnering with a company like Anthropic or OpenAI would allow Apple to deliver the exact ‌Siri‌ feature set that it is aiming for, while also giving it time to continue work on its own LLM behind the scenes.

Launch Date

Apple executives have confirmed that the new version of ‌Siri‌ will launch in 2026, and rumors suggest it will come as soon as spring 2026. If it is indeed planned for spring, Apple could roll out the features in iOS 26.4, because the.4 software updates are often reserved for significant feature improvements.This article, "LLM Siri: The Complete Guide to Apple's AI Assistant Overhaul Coming in 2026" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums