Apple Intelligence: False start in China, new Siri only with iOS 27?
The first beta of iOS 26.5 is here, but there's still no sign of an improved voice assistant. Meanwhile, Apple went too far in China.
Siri on different devices: For almost two years, Apple has been promising a context-sensitive assistant, but implementation is lacking.
(Image: Apple)
Again bad news from and for Apple's AI department: The introduction of Apple Intelligence in China went live prematurely without a license from Beijing – and the long-awaited context-sensitive Siri is still not available.
China AI suddenly available
Apple Intelligence, available in the USA since autumn 2024 and in Europe since spring 2025, is still not released for the Chinese market. But that didn't stop an Apple team from releasing the feature without much announcement. According to Bloomberg, this was a mistake.
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Although the technology has been ready for launch "for months," approval from the Chinese government is still missing. Nevertheless, users discovered this week that they could briefly activate Apple Intelligence in China. Apple has now removed the switch and corresponding documentation, which fortunately goes online. The company needs a Chinese partner for implementation. Among the candidates is the internet giant Alibaba, among others.
iOS 26.5 without new Siri
As early as summer 2024, at the WWDC developer conference, Apple announced that it would launch an improved Siri in autumn of that year as part of the introduction of Apple Intelligence. It was even advertised on American television: an assistant that understands the user's context, for example, and remembers past chats or appointments. However, these features were never implemented, even though Apple emphasized in summer 2025 that it was not just hot air. Implementation with iOS 26.4, which was actually expected, did not happen. Now, the first beta of iOS 26.5 has been available since yesterday evening – and it contains no new Siri. Whether Apple is saving it for later betas remains unclear.
However, it is conceivable that the company is now considering implementing new Siri features only with iOS 27. For this update, the integration of a Google Gemini-based chatbot is apparently planned for the first time. For iOS 26, which is now in an advanced development cycle, reading screen content and controlling apps were planned in addition to context-sensitive Siri.
(bsc)
