Google I/O 2025. Samsung Galaxy Unpacked. Made By Google. All these big launch events had one thing in common — new artificial intelligence tools were the headline act.
Now, Apple has announced its next big event will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 9. Will we finally see the newer, smarter, AI-er Siri? Unfortunately, probably not. We, along with the rest of the tech world, would be shocked if it did.
It’s no secret — Apple Intelligence isn’t quite what we expected it to be, and the pressure is on Apple to add new AI-focused features to its products. That’s not to say that there aren’t some Apple Intelligence features that come in handy, but the long-awaited AI version of Siri has yet to make it to the public.
Apple’s next big event is set to be huge, and we’ll get a number of awesome new Apple devices that iPhone fans will love. So, why isn’t the AI-powered Siri ready for its primetime moment?
That’s the billion-dollar question.
Hardware versus software
Apple’s release cadence usually takes the following form: in June, Apple holds its Worldwide Developers Conference, which is its major software event for the year, and where it shows off the big new software features that will ship to customers in September. This year, Apple revealed iOS 26, and we’re eagerly awaiting the iOS 26 release date. On Sept. 9, Apple is set to debut devices, with the new iPhone being the headliner.
However, recent hardware launches from Google and Samsung have focused heavily on new AI tools.
Credit: Apple
Apple has a rocky history with AI features, especially after the company failed to ship many of the promised Apple Intelligence features that it announced at WWDC 2024. Since then, reports in the New York Times and Bloomberg have revealed that Apple is struggling to rebuild Siri with generative AI capabilities, and that the company has fallen far behind rivals like Google and OpenAI in the AI arms race.
In the meantime, Apple has turned to OpenAI and ChatGPT to power some Siri features. A recent report from Bloomberg suggests that Apple is also in talks with Anthropic and Google to help power new Apple Intelligence and Siri features. But according to all reports, AI Siri still isn’t done cooking.
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Regardless, most of these reports point toward Apple making early business decisions, not readying a new Siri for the iPhone 17 launch. In fact, Apple forecasters don’t expect to see the revamped Siri until at least 2026 – potentially around the time of WWDC 2026.
Apple Intelligence rumors
We do expect Apple to show off plenty of new AI toys at the Apple Event 2025, and there are plenty of Apple Intelligence rumors going around.
Technically, it’s still possible that Apple will surprise everyone and announce the new, revamped Siri. But in all likelihood, we expect to hear about iterative improvements to existing Apple Intelligence features.
Credit: Apple
Notably, Apple confirmed to 9to5Mac that it plans on supporting Siri using OpenAI’s new GPT-5 large language model. This builds on existing features, though. You can already sign into your OpenAI account on your iPhone and have Siri direct certain questions to ChatGPT as needed.
Other Apple Intelligence announcements should include improved real-time language translation on AirPods and iPhones, new photo editing tools, and more advanced Genmoji options. Some of these features were already teased during WWDC 2025 and should arrive with iOS 26.
What’s coming in iOS 26?
Rumors aside, there are plenty of AI-based features that we know for a fact are coming in iOS 26, which we do expect to be released alongside the iPhone 17. We know this because Apple has announced them already. The beta version of iOS 26 has been available since June, after Apple announced all of the new operating systems at WWDC 2025.
So what new AI features are there? For starters, there’s a new feature in Visual Intelligence that allows users to ask questions about screenshots in addition to what your camera sees.
Credit: Christian de Looper
There are also new live translation features built into Messages, FaceTime, and the Phone app, which use AI to provide real-time translations in communication. And there are some features that work a little more in the background, like AI-powered reminder suggestions, order tracking within Apple Wallet that uses information from emails in your inbox, and more.
Yes, Apple will probably focus heavily on other changes to iOS, like the new Liquid Glass design language, rather than on AI-based features, but that doesn’t mean that AI won’t be a big part of the new release.
The future of Apple Intelligence
It’s very clear that Apple is indeed still working on building the all-new generative AI Siri. We’ve seen plenty of reports highlighting executive team changes at the company meant to speed up AI development. But these kinds of developments take time, and most experts think the company will finally ship major new AI features in 2026.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
