Is it possible for a launch to fail even before it goes live? It’s quite possible, and it can happen to the biggest companies on the market. Apple Siri AI’s failure is something of a big deal in the tech world and marks the company’s struggles to keep up with the latest trends. Apple is one of the most valuable companies on the market right now, and even though the crown appears to be slipping off the company’s head, it remains a leader. So what’s the reason behind Apple’s Siri stumble?
A new report from The Information dove into the chaos behind Siri and the internal strife behind settling on a direction for the chatty assistant’s AI upgrade. The report explained that there was indecision on the right strategy to pursue—whether to adopt dual language models for local and cloud—and poor leadership that earned the AI and machine-learning group the title of “AIMLess” for its lack of ambition. The tea is piping hot, and the Apple Siri AI project mess says a lot about Apple’s processes in 2025.
The negative attention around Apple’s Siri AI features and their delayed release is a problem of the company’s own creation—revealing an unfinished project too early never goes well.
Apple’s Siri AI Failure: What Is the Issue?
The report has a lot to say about the reasons behind Apple Siri’s feature delays, but before we dive into it, let’s talk about what the issue is. Much like other tech giants stomping around the market right now, Apple began actively chasing full-scale AI integration in its smartphones last year and revealed Apple Intelligence, its one-stop solution for all things AI.
This revered Apple Intelligence was announced at the WWDC 2024 in June 2024. The features were appreciated by many and ignored by most, but it marked a big step forward for Apple in the AI race. Apple also made the mistake of announcing an advanced version of its in-house assistant Siri, and this was expected to be the company’s biggest AI offering to come.
Siri AI Delayed, Release in the “Coming Year”
There was considerable excitement around the release of Apple’s Siri AI, but the company was unable to commit to a release date and bring out its next AI marvel. The Cupertino company sold many iPhone 16s on the promise of future integration but has since pulled its 2024 ads that showcased the Siri AI features to tempt consumers into purchasing it.
In March 2025, Apple revealed that the advanced Siri AI had been delayed due to setbacks in 2025 and would only arrive “in the coming year.” Bloomberg soon revealed that in a Siri team meeting, Senior Director Robby Walker called the situation “ugly” and “embarrassing” and sympathized with burnt-out employees frustrated over the situation.
This is the situation that we’re referring to when we talk about Apple Siri AI’s failure.
Screengrab of the Apple Intelligence page and its promise of an advanced Siri AI assistant.
Chaos Behind Siri Delays Revealed in a New Report
Apple’s Siri feature delays did not come with a clear reason, which left fans to wonder at the possible explanations and draw their own conclusions. Many suggested that the AI was just not ready for a full release and that Apple wanted to work out some of its shortcomings first before bringing it out to everyone, but the problem seems to be much more complex than that. We’ve seen the Apple Vision Pro and know that the company is not averse to releasing an unfinished product.
The Apple Siri AI project has reportedly been a mess since its early days, with the company struggling to settle on a direction and begin streamlining work towards the goal. The Information’s report on Apple’s Siri revamp broke down the chao behind Siri.
Indecisiveness on Strategy
The Siri AI development team did not have clear directions on what to work on. The initial plan was to work on dual language models—”Mini Mouse” for local, “Mighty Mouse” for cloud—before it shifted to a single cloud-based model to handle all the requests.
Poor Leadership Behind Apple’s Siri Stumble
The AI and machine-learning group was nicknamed “AIMLess,” reflecting perceptions of weak ambition and risk-averse leadership. The lack of active initiative was a large part of Siri’s feature release delays at Apple.
Siri Shake-up Report: Employees Quit
Engineers were said to have been extremely frustrated with the situation and dissatisfied with the leadership, quitting the company instead of putting up with the uncertainties. There were also some conflicts over matters like higher pay and other work benefits.
“Hot Potato” Shuffle
Due to the lack of direction, the Siri project was said to have been passed between teams, interrupting progress and culling any major improvements.
Relaxed Culture Around Siri
Senior leaders were blamed for being too relaxed about the Siri release, showing no urgency to catch up to competitors like ChatGPT.
Privacy Policy Gets in the Way
Apple is known for being a little more committed to privacy and data collection, which got in the way of using the same barely-legal tactics that competitors were using to acquire data for training. This is a win for us personally, and we respect Apple’s commitment to keeping privacy a goal.
Underperforming Models
Apple’s internal AI models were found to be weaker than competitor models. Early on, Apple’s engineers were only allowed to use third-party models in final Apple products for benchmark tests, but Apple’s model consistently underperformed.
Falsified Demos
Apple’s early demos at WWDC were reportedly faked for the showcase, and the AI was not nearly as close to completion as the company had hoped. This set up a false narrative of expectations surrounding the Siri AI and likely led to further stress on the team.
Siri Shake-up Report: Things Could Soon Be Back on Track
In March, Tim Cook took charge of the situation more actively and made some changes to the Siri project’s team leadership. After losing confidence in AI head John Giannandrea’s ability to keep the project on track, Mike Rockwell, VP of the Vision Products Group, has now been tasked with leading the work on Siri.
Giannandrea will continue to remain at Apple, but his focus will remain on other research and AI progression at the company apart from Siri. Rockwell, who now has a huge challenge in front of him, will report directly to another leader at the company, Craig Fderighi. A senior manager from the Rockwell team is also moving to the Siri project with him.
Federighi has been said to have asked the Siri team to do “whatever it takes” to build up the best AI features possible. With new leaders at the helm, the Apple Siri AI failure could be set for a redemption arc soon enough if enough progress is made internally.
Subscribe to Technowize for more progress updates on the Apple intelligence and Siri 2025 delays or news on all things tech.