Apple announced its iOS 26 update earlier this week with the new Liquid Glass design language, which has sparked mixed reviews in the tech community. The company's implementation is pretty neat, with layers of digital glass that refract light at different angles. To promote the new software updates, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi and marketing chief Greg Joswiak are on a media tour this week, and in a new interview, the executives shared details on the delayed Personalized Siri features.
Apple has defended its Personalized Siri feature, stating the WWDC demo was real and delays were due to quality standards
In a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, Joanna Stern asked if the company had a working version of the delayed Personalized Siri feature, which was demonstrated at last year's WWDC. According to Federighi, the Personalized Siri feature that they were working with was "real" and "working."
"We were filming real working software, with a real large language model, with real semantic search, that's what you saw," said Federighi.
"There's this narrative out there that it was demoware only," added Joswiak. "No."
Apple showcased the feature last year at its WWDC event, and it was one of the most prominent additions that would have shaped Apple Intelligence to this day. However, the company saw fit to delay the feature until next year after various considerations. The update was delayed numerous times before it was shelved for next year. The feature is yet to be unveiled to the public, but based on initial impressions, Personalized Siri would have redefined usability on the iPhone.
The company executives claim that the feature was delayed due to quality issues, but the feature does exist and was not demoware by any means, according to Joswiak. Apple will potentially announce the feature in early 2025, possibly with the iOS 26.4 update.
For those who are unfamiliar with the Personalized Siri feature, it basically understood a user's personal context, had on-screen awareness, and deeper in-app integration. The feature could access controls from within apps, and it would have made Siri smarter than ever, something that it struggles with to this day. Other than this, the executives also shared details on Apple Intelligence and much more, which you can check out in the full interview.
Craig Federighi also stated that no other company is doing well in the AI sector when it comes to automating capabilities on-device, and Apple wanted to be the first, but the quality standards were not achieved. There will be a full version of the source's story, so stick around for more details.
About the author: Ali Salman is a technology reporter for Wccftech mobile section with a specialized focus on Apple and the intellectual property that drives mobile innovation. He has cultivated a unique expertise in analyzing and deconstructing complex technology patents, translating dense legal and technical documents into clear, insightful reports on future products.
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