Tim Cook alludes to even further delays for biggest iPhone 16 feature

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iPhone 16 in different colors
People who bought the iPhone 16 are still waiting on Apple intelligence to be rolled out fully. But the promised AI features are seeing a very staggered launch and they also keep getting delayed. Apple CEO Tim Cook just recently said that the new and improved Siri will come in the “next several months” alluding to even further postponement.

This new Siri is supposed to be the crème de la crème of Apple Intelligence: a truly smart AI assistant that can understand your phone and carry out actions across apps. Currently Apple Intelligence consists mostly of writing texts, generating emojis and poorly summarizing notifications.

Cook’s latest statement about the new Siri also gives more credence to what Apple insider Mark Gurman said: that Apple Intelligence won’t be complete till 2026. Initially slated for release in April alongside iOS 18.4 it now seems that the new Siri may only be announced this year and actually come out the next.

This is in my opinion quite a big misstep from Apple. The iPhone 16 sold on two major marketing points: Apple Intelligence and the camera control button. But Apple Intelligence is not available in all regions and the iPhone 16 comes with different features in the EU. Delaying its AI features till 2026 means Apple is essentially telling everyone that the iPhone 16 is a needless upgrade and to wait for the iPhone 17 instead.

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The iPhone 16 has been a pretty mild upgrade over the iPhone 15. | Video credit — Apple

Tim Cook also raved about the upcoming AI tools at the company’s earnings call recently. In his words these are apparently features that you can’t live without once you’ve used them. I really hope that’s true because, despite most consumers not caring for it, I do think smartphone AI could be something really special.

The new Samsung Galaxy S25 phones also heavily marketed AI at the company’s Galaxy Unpacked event this month. If I’m being honest I expected a lot more from Galaxy AI but it seems to be more of the same for now and you can’t go wrong with either the iPhone 16 or the Galaxy S25.
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