iOS 18 Updates Continue to Cause Delays in Apple's iOS 19 Plans

[kiranmk2]

The latest development follows a report from Gurman last month that iOS 19 will include a significant Siri upgrade powered by large language models, making the assistant more conversational and similar to ChatGPT. Apple is expected to preview this enhancement at WWDC 2025 in June, but it won't be available until iOS 19.4 in the spring of 2026.

I wonder how this is going compared to Amazon's "remarkable Alexa" update that was due in October but was delayed to "2025" because although it was better at conversations, it now failed to do the basic tasks like setting timers and turning off lights.

 

[kiranmk2]

Let’s be real - all the “AI” stuff was originally planned for iOS 19 as a complete package.

Then the ChatGPT etc hype came along more quickly than expected and Apple panicked and had to rush something out quickly so as not to appear to be falling behind.

I don't think this kind of AI stuff was on a tangible radar at all. A lot of companies went into full knee-jerk panic when ChatGPT launched as the performance and public take-up was completed unexpected.

 

[I7guy]

THIS!!!

The only thing that creates this pressure is the history of wanting big reveals of new software features at every WWDC. Apple could resolve this pressure by a simple change of decision(s) and policy.

Apple is not moving to a two year release cycle. Can guarantee it.

Who cares about about an annual cadence when getting it right might seek a different schedule?

Apple does. Because its competitors do the same. And people would complain about a two year release cycle.

Conceptually, there are big updates done but held back for this artificial schedule and then other updates promised but not deliverable by the Fall release.

Yes, there is a certain amount of planning that occurs with software development.

Why not make releases launch when they are ready & polished instead of waiting for one big bundle of "reveals" once each year?

Apple seems to have a hard release cycle in September but some wiggle room for releasing other functionality when ready.

If someone thinks this is about the press, concentrating all the big news into one day/week means a lot of advancements get lost is the noise explosion. Another way would be to regularly release big & new and thus have more regular attention by media throughout the year. And nice new features that might otherwise be buried by other announcements at WWDC would get their full day in the (media) sun too.

Who knows?

 

[dannys1]

The situation is unfortunately expected to result in a similarly staggered deployment of features in the next iOS cycle that is likely to frustrate many Apple users.

Here's an idea. Don't announce the features in June and no one will be "frustrated" by not having them in September. Announce them when they're ready to actual come out and we'll all be chuffed to find out we're getting something in January we didn't know existed.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Then how could they do marketing when competitors still release annually? A 2-year release schedule is suicidal.

Market the iPhone, not the OS, just like they do now and have for years.

The fact that Apple ties new iPhone releases to the new iOS numbered updated is a choice, not a requirement.

 

[SW3029]

People on MacRumors are funny. They complain when Apple doesn't release every single software feature at once, but then they complain when Apple takes the time to roll out software features gradually, waiting until the features are actually ready.

 

[I7guy]

Here's an idea. Don't announce the features in June and no one will be "frustrated" by not having them in September.

WHO is frustrated? I’m not. There will never be 100% of users happy with apple at anymore time. Especially with 1B customers. Opinions on MR are just that.

Announce them when they're ready to actual come out and we'll all be chuffed to find out we're getting something in January we didn't know existed.

I don’t believe apple wants to market like that.

 

[WilliApple]

Stop laying people off.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Here's an idea. Don't announce the features in June and no one will be "frustrated" by not having them in September. Announce them when they're ready to actual come out and we'll all be chuffed to find out we're getting something in January we didn't know existed.

Great idea. Apple does sell iPhones EVERY quarter... not just in the Fall quarter. And news about delicious new feature(s) releases in other quarters would be a boost to marketing and something to further fuel sales in the quarters AFTER December closes.

Perhaps a positive lesson Apple may learn from the delayed rollouts of A.I. features is that having new goodies to tout as it is ready (and hopefully polished) is better than concentrating all in one big blast in one month out of the 12 months of each year.

 

[dannys1]

WHO is frustrated? I’m not. There will never be 100% of users happy with apple at anymore time. Especially with 1B customers. Opinions on MR are just that.

I don’t believe apple wants to market like that.

I'm not frustated either, I was quoting the MacRumors article author.

Apple might not want to market like that, however the current way of marketing isn't ideal - show a feature in June and release it nearly a year later (or not at all if it didn't turn out how they expected) probably isn't the way the way they want to market things either.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Stop laying people off.

No one from the OS divisions has been laid off.

 

[uczcret]

iOS 12 had minimal new features but focused on stability because of bugs in iOS 11

iOS 19 seems to be following the footsteps of iOS 12 since the major feature of iOS 18 [Apple intelligence] is still not fully released until sometime before WWDC 2025

iOS 19 seems to be following the footsteps of every iOS update in the last decade or so...features announced in WWDC in June and then it takes almost a year for all the features to be actually released (if at all) to the public just before the unveiling of the next iOS version. Rinse and repeat...

 

[neuropsychguy]

I don’t really care of new emojis every year

You're welcome to contact the Unicode Consortium and tell them to stop adding new emojis.

 

[Prof.]

So far I am not impressed with the AI features, nor do I use them. AI is a fun parlor trick for the first day or two, and then you forget about it.

I fully support releasing major updates every two years, with the odd years focusing on stability and security improvements.

 

[egdiroh]

Gurman said it so I give it a 33% chance of being true. a 34% chance of never being able to determine or mixed, and a 33% of it being the opposite of reality.

 

[albebaubles]

Instead of yearly monolithic releases, what if Apple just announced a roadmap during WWDC and rolled major features out as they became operational? That’s kind of what they’re doing with iOS 18 anyway. Forcing the software to align rigidly with iPhone purchase cycles is not sustainable.

This is how they get people to update their phones really.

 

[Apple$]

If Apple does this, I’m done with my iPhone 15 and going back to Google Pixel.

 

[Fraserpatty]

I wish Apple would have prioritized the Siri update and let those genemoji and image playground features wait until after Siri was perfected. It’s almost like they are afraid of not being able to come through to make Siri what people have waited for, so they throw the flash, immature, play stuff out first, even though we already have emoji.

 

[orbital~debris]

This story, and its reaction, is baffling.

Is there collective amnesia here, or did the very same source not indicate that Apple were shifting software (and hardware) release strategy – just a couple of months ago? Here's the MacRumors post:

Apple's Shift Toward More Staggered Releases Could Bring More Innovation and Less Predictability

Apple appears to be slowly moving away from regular, timed hardware and software releases that come on an annual basis, instead favoring more of a...

www.macrumors.com

For that kind of modification to occur, there must logically be a point where the until-now typical release cadence changes. We're likely just seeing Apple working through that period to get to the eventual new status quo…

 

[Fraserpatty]

I wish Apple would have prioritized the Siri update and let those genemoji and image playground features wait until after Siri was perfected. It’s almost like they are afraid of not being able to come through to make Siri what people have waited for, so they throw the flash, immature, play stuff out first, even though we already have emoji. I wonder how many more years they will put it off for and continue to prioritize features for 15 year olds.

 

[nottorp]

You're welcome to contact the Unicode Consortium and tell them to stop adding new emojis.

The Unicode Consortium should be disbanded actually, since it looks like their purpose is now obsolete.

 

[spazzcat]

Market the iPhone, not the OS, just like they do now and have for years.

The fact that Apple ties new iPhone releases to the new iOS numbered updated is a choice, not a requirement.

Almost all businesses do this and Apple is one the few that gives new features to older hardware.

 

[TechWhisperer]

This is happening because Apple failed to capitalize on the rapid advancements in AI, missing a crucial opportunity to lead the charge in this transformative technology. They were too focused on self-congratulation, unable to see the bigger picture unfolding around them.

 

[brofkand]

Since so few of these features come out when the new OS launches, why don’t they just stop with the annual release cycle?

 

[Pruus]

Typical Apple, the last version is not bugfree or not complete. And again a new version. Please stop this ridicule behavior. Give users a good version without bugs and working apps.