Apple’s long-awaited, oft-delayed overhaul of its beleaguered Siri virtual assistant has encountered significant issues during recent testing, which could delay the rollout of several key new features that many users have been eagerly anticipating.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
After planning to include the new capabilities in iOS 26.4 — an operating system update slated for March — Apple is now working to spread them out over future versions, according to people familiar with the matter. That would mean possibly postponing at least some features until at least iOS 26.5, due in May, and iOS 27, which comes out in September.
The latest hitches are part of a long and trying saga for Apple, which first announced plans for the revamped Siri in June 2024.
In the spring of last year, Apple delayed the rollout, saying the new Siri would instead arrive in 2026. It never announced more specific timing. Internally, though, Apple settled on the March 2026 target — tying it to iOS 26.4 — a goal that remained in place as recently as last month.
But testing uncovered fresh problems with the software, prompting the latest postponements, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Siri doesn’t always properly process queries or can take too long to handle requests, they said…
[I]t’s been a complex undertaking. The revamped Siri is built on an entirely new architecture dubbed Linwood. Its software will rely on the company’s large language model platform — known as Apple Foundations Models — which is now incorporating technology from Alphabet Inc.’s Google Gemini team.
Beyond those upgrades, Apple is also developing a major new AI initiative for iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27: a fully overhauled Siri that operates more like a chatbot. It will be powered by Google servers and a more advanced custom Gemini model.
MacDailyNews Take: At this point, it’s better to get it right than to force out an “Apple Maps.” Even when it’s shippable, Apple should tag everything with “beta,” to sooth the inevitable teething pains.
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But Tim is wetting his pants about immigrants and those meanies at ICE.
Cook is a very confused guy, clearly.
MacDailyNews has the best, most dispassionate reporting on this issue that I’ve found anywhere:
Federal agents, primarily from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, are in Minnesota (including Minneapolis) as part of the Trump administration’s intensified effort to enforce immigration laws to address the significant influx of illegal aliens inherited from the prior administration.
President Bill Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) into law on September 30, 1996. This major legislation amended the Immigration and Nationality Act by strengthening border enforcement, expanding grounds for deportation (including for certain criminal convictions), introducing expedited removal procedures, imposing bars on reentry for those unlawfully present (e.g., 3- and 10-year bars), increasing penalties for illegal entry/reentry, and enhancing interior enforcement mechanisms — many of which form the backbone of current federal immigration enforcement authority used by ICE and other agencies.
Clinton also signed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) in 1996, which further expanded deportable offenses and limited judicial review in immigration cases.
The Trump administration’s effort involves having federal officers conduct arrests, deportations, and related operations targeting illegal aliens, amid broader efforts to execute mass deportations promised during the 2024 campaign.
These enforcement actions stem from longstanding federal immigration statutes, such as those in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952 (as amended over decades), which President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law in its foundational modern form, though subsequent presidents (including Clinton as outlined above) have invoked and expanded executive authority under these laws to prioritize enforcement.
Similar aggressive operations are ongoing in dozens of other U.S. states and cities without major incidents or fatalities because those jurisdictions cooperate with federal authorities, sharing information, honoring detainers, or otherwise facilitating ICE efforts rather than limiting or barring local law enforcement cooperation. In contrast, Minnesota — along with cities like Minneapolis — have “sanctuary” policies that restrict such cooperation, leading to heightened federal presence, direct confrontations during enforcement actions, protests, and tensions.
In dozens of states beyond Minnesota, the Trump administration has significantly expanded Section 287(g) agreements (which allow local law enforcement to assist ICE), covering over 1,350 agreements across 40 U.S. states (see map here) — cooperation that facilitates smoother enforcement.
The unfortunate deaths in Minneapolis (including those of Alex Pretti on January 24, 2026 and Renée Nicole Good on January 7, 2026) occurred during encounters where individuals interfered with federal officers carrying out immigration enforcement duties, resisted commands, or posed threats, resulting in the use of force by agents according to official accounts.