Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman on Sunday offered an update on Apple Intelligence and Apple’s plans for Siri in 2026. Gurman’s comments came in the latest edition of his “Power On” newsletter.
Gurman says Apple is still planning to roll out its revamped version of Siri sometime in the first quarter of 2026. Alongside the new Siri, Apple will also release a new smart home display product with speaker-base and wall-mount options. Gurman says the release of new Apple TV and HomePod mini devices, expected to launch soon, will “help showcase” next year’s new Siri and Apple Intelligence features.
He says the new version of Siri will “lean” on Google’s Gemini and include an AI-powered web search feature. However, Gurman warns “there’s no guarantee users will embrace it, that it will work seamlessly or that it can undo years of damage to the Siri brand.”
Gurman says Apple is paying Google to create a custom Gemini-based model that can run on its private cloud servers and help power Siri, providing “the AI features that users expect — all with an Apple user interface.”
Apple continues to experience issues with the launch of Apple Intelligence in China, despite its partnerships with Chinese companies.
… Regulators in China are holding up the process, and now the debut is a rolling target. Apple had been aiming for iOS 26.1 or iOS 26.2, but those updates are going to come and go too. The next target: iOS 26.4, when the new Siri arrives. Will it happen? There’s not a single person at Apple who could tell you for sure. But sooner would be better given the company’s continued sales struggles in China.
