March 16, 2025 –Apple’s highly anticipated personalized Siri features, initially announced at the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), have seen their launch delayed, with no official confirmation from the company whether they were mere conceptual demonstrations. However, according to a report yesterday by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, these features are now at least partially functional within Apple’s internal systems.
Gurman revealed that Robby Walker, the Senior Director of Apple’s Siri division, showcased the “working” state of some personalized Siri features during a recent all-hands meeting of the Siri team. Walker demonstrated the technology in action, with Siri able to locate his driver’s license number upon command and find photos of specific children. Additionally, Siri demonstrated precise voice control over applications, such as embedding content in emails, adding recipients, and making other modifications.
Walker noted that these features are currently functional “about two-thirds to 80% of the time.” Apple’s challenge lies in ensuring that these features not only work but work well before releasing them to consumers.
Apple has stated that it expects to launch personalized Siri features within the “next year,” without providing a more specific timeline. Once released, Siri’s upgrades will include understanding users’ personal contexts, screen awareness, and deeper in-app control. For instance, during the keynote address at the 2024 WWDC, Apple demonstrated an iPhone user inquiring Siri about their mother’s flight and lunch reservation plans, based on data from email and messaging apps.
It’s worth noting that Apple’s supplementary information on its iPhone 16 product page mentions that Siri’s personal context understanding, screen awareness, and in-app manipulation features are under development and will be available through future software updates. Gurman suggests that these features are “not likely to launch until next year at the earliest,” echoed by recent reports from Reuters and CNBC mentioning a 2026 timeframe. If accurate, Siri’s features may only be released with iOS 19.4 or a later version.
