Apple’s Siri AI Promises Fall Apart—Gruber Sounds the Alarm

Even Apple’s most loyal supporter, John Gruber, is fed up with the company’s delay of its Siri AI overhaul.

In a scathing post titled “Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino,” on Wednesday, Gruber criticized Apple for delaying its highly anticipated “personalized Siri” feature, part of Apple Intelligence.

Gruber admitted he was blindsided by Apple’s recent announcement, which revealed that these advanced Siri features—originally expected by this summer—won’t launch until sometime next year. The features are meant to make Siri smarter, allowing it to better understand personal context, recognize what’s on-screen, and perform more complex tasks across apps.

The Apple observer didn’t hold back, admitting he should’ve seen this coming. He criticized himself for overlooking warning signs when Apple first teased the features at its developer conference (WWDC) last year. “I should have been pointing out red flags from the start,” he wrote.

He argued that Apple’s failure to even demo these features—both during last year’s events and more recently—suggests they might not exist in any meaningful form. “Concept videos are bullshit, and a sign of a company in disarray, if not crisis,” he said, slamming Apple.

The delay isn’t just about timing. Gruber warned that Apple’s credibility is on the line. Known for only announcing features they can actually deliver, Apple’s misstep has left fans and tech experts questioning whether the company is slipping.

He also points out to the 53-minute mark of Apple’s September special event, where Apple executive Craig Federighi shares a glowing 40 seconds of the Siri overhaul.

“That’s about 40 seconds of keynote time I bet Federighi regrets — and that I suspect he was skeptical about including. It’s telling though, that unlike WWDC, Apple didn’t show those features or spend even a full minute talking about at the iPhone 16 event — despite the fact that, ostensibly, those features should have been three months closer to shipping than they were in June,” writes Gruber.

Apple has said it “anticipates rolling out the features in the coming year,” but for Gruber and many Apple fans, the damage is already done.

Gruber’s editorial probably won’t sit well with Apple executives, and it could put his early access to Apple products at risk. What’s your take on his assessment of Apple’s current situation? One thing’s for sure, Siri remains dumb as a door knob and a full overhaul can’t come soon enough.