It sounds like Siri 2.0’s debut could be only a couple of weeks away from launching in an upcoming iOS update, although most users will be waiting longer to try the features.
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, a man with established inside knowledge of Apple’s activities, claims in his latest newsletter that the revamped version of Apple’s familiar digital assistant will debut in iOS 26.4, as previously rumored. More specifically, it will be made available in the developer beta build, which will arrive on February 23rd.
This update is expected to contain long-promised features for Siri, such as it being able to access and control key apps like your messages, calendar appointments and photos, and respond to context-sensitive queries about the contents of those apps. However, Gurman explains that the rumored chatbot functionality coming to Siri won’t arrive until the next full iPhone update — iOS 27 — according to other leaks.
As this February release is a developer beta, this isn’t going to appear on your iPhone unless you’ve specifically signed up for these updates. And to be frank, we don’t recommend doing so unless you’re aware of the risks that potentially buggy software could have on the only smartphone you own.
Fortunately, we at TG are brave (or perhaps foolish), and will be installing the iOS 26.4 beta to test the new Siri, and we will share our results and experiences with you so you don’t have to put your own device at risk.
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While it’s not clear when the stable version of iOS 26.4 will launch, giving all users with compatible iPhones access to the new features. However, we can assume from Apple’s usual iOS release patterns that the update will be ready by late March or April.
Big promises — finally fulfilled?
Apple put a lot of emphasis on how smart Siri would be thanks to the addition of Apple Intelligence back at its 2024 WWDC conference. But despite advertising these capabilities during the WWDC presentation, and then again in a commercial starring Bella Ramsey from “The Last of Us,” these features haven’t yet made it onto any iPhone out in the real world.
This has been quite a blow for Apple, as over in the Android world, Google and Gemini have been receiving continuous updates and fresh features for awhile now. At the same time, third-party apps like ChatGPT have also shown users how far behind Apple’s in-house tech is.
Fortunately, with Apple now adopting a Gemini AI model as the basis for Siri, its on-device AI powers should soon be on par with the competition. And while it’s perhaps embarrassing for Apple’s own AI team to have to rely on Google to help them out, this will hopefully be the best possible option for iPhone users around the world.
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So, let us know if you’ll be downloading the new beta, and then mark your calendar for February 23rd — either so you can get installing yourself, or so you can return to TG to hear about what we’ve found.
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