- A new report says the more personal Siri will launch with iOS 26.4
- This upgraded Siri will use Foundational Models built on Gemini
- It comes just days after Apple confirmed a partnership with Google
Just nine days after Apple partnered with Google to use Google‘s Gemini models and cloud technology to base its next-generation of Apple Foundation Models, it appears that the AI-powered Siri that the Cupertino-based giant first promised to us all back in 2024 might be coming way, way sooner than any of us thought.
According to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the rumor mill is doubling down on the rollout of the AI-powered Siri being released in Spring 2026 – now writing that it’s “planned for iOS 26.4,” which is likely due in the coming weeks or months. Right now, Apple is seeding iOS 26.3 to registered developers and folks enrolled in the public beta program.
The report notes that iOS 26.4 will deliver on the promised features Apple first teased at WWDC 2024 as part of Apple Intelligence – things like Siri having a deeper personal understanding of you, based on what it can see on your screen, and being way smarter. Meaning that it could also pull up topical information in a jiffy, making it a much more impactful and meaningful user experience.
More importantly, though, is the timing here – this report, which comes alongside a rumor that Apple will launch an AI chatbot with iOS 27, one that competes directly with Google Gemini and ChatGPT, notes that this updated Siri wouldn’t likely be possible without the partnership with Google for that foundational base.
The iOS 26.4 version of the AI-powered Siri “will rely on a Google-developed system internally known as Apple Foundation Models version 10,” the report reads before noting it operates at 1.2 trillion parameters.
Clearly, access to Gemini models to build and stand Apple’s own Foundational Models on top has sped things up and might mean that Apple will be able to deliver on the smarter, more personal Siri it’s been promising for a long time, much sooner, rather than later.
As for when iOS 26.4 will arrive, it’s likely in the Spring, after the start of March and before the end of May. Meaning it would likely arrive before WWDC 2026, which is expected in June.
Of course, Apple could save this news for a bit of consumer buzz at WWDC and ship 26.4 to all users with an Apple Intelligence capable device, and thus the access to the new Siri, right after the keynote wraps.
It would be a surprise-and-delight moment, but would also push aside the usual public beta and developer testing periods. Either way, though, with Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude all pushing what we’ve come to expect from AI tools and many of them becoming more personal, we’ll have to wait and see if Apple’s actually smarter Siri is worth the wait, and how it prepares us for the other big rumor: a Siri chatbot inside iOS 27.
Time will tell, but Siri’s major upgrade is still a long time coming.
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jacob.krol@futurenet.com (Jacob Krol)
