Apple’s top Siri executive delivered harsh words to staff about the company’s AI struggles, calling recent feature delays both “ugly” and “embarrassing” during an all-hands meeting. Robby Walker, senior director overseeing Siri development, didn’t mince words as he addressed his team about Apple’s indefinite postponement of key AI features that had been prominently advertised.
The candid remarks reveal the depth of Apple’s crisis in artificial intelligence, where the tech giant lags significantly behind competitors. Walker acknowledged the company’s decision to promote unfinished technology had worsened their predicament.
“This was not one of these situations where we get to show people our plan after it’s done,” Walker told staff. “We showed people before.”
Apple’s Ambitious AI Plans Hit a Snag: Siri Features Pushed Back
During last year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple unveiled ambitious AI enhancements for Siri as part of its broader “Apple Intelligence” initiative.
These features promised to transform the decade-old virtual assistant into a more powerful tool capable of accessing users’ personal data for better responses and precisely controlling apps.
However, the company recently admitted these upgrades won’t arrive until at least next year. Sources familiar with the development process say reliability issues plague the system, with Walker revealing the features only work properly about 70-80% of the time.
“To make matters worse,” Walker said, Apple’s marketing department had already featured these capabilities in television commercials and promotional campaigns. The company even positioned the AI enhancements as a key selling point for the iPhone 16 lineup, which critics noted lacked other significant improvements.
Walker suggested many team members might be feeling “angry, disappointed, burned out and embarrassed” following the postponement. He acknowledged some might even feel relieved, suspecting employees had doubts about whether the features were truly ready for public release.
“You might have co-workers or friends or family asking you what happened, and it doesn’t feel good,” Walker said. “It’s very reasonable to feel all these things.”
Despite the setbacks, Walker defended the work accomplished so far, describing the team’s progress as “incredibly impressive” and demonstrating working examples during the meeting.
The technology successfully located his driver’s license number on command found specific photos of a child, and manipulated apps through voice control.
“We swam hundreds of miles — we set a Guinness Book for World Records for swimming distance, but we still didn’t swim to Hawaii,” Walker said, using a metaphor to describe their achievements. “And we were being jumped on, not for the amazing swimming that we did, but the fact that we didn’t get to the destination.”
The executive pledged that Apple would maintain high standards and only release features when properly polished, taking a subtle jab at competitors who “might have launched them in this state or worse.”
While no immediate executive firings are planned, the company is considering management adjustments.
Apple’s AI Efforts Face Delays and Restructuring
Apple has discussed moving more senior executives under John Giannandrea, the company’s AI chief, and has already tapped veteran executive Kim Vorrath to assist with turnaround efforts.
Software chief Craig Federighi reportedly raised concerns with other executives that the features weren’t functioning as advertised, ultimately leading to the delay in the decision. Issues with Apple Intelligence have been apparent since its announcement, with the company repeatedly postponing features and providing vague timelines.
The crisis has contributed to Apple’s stock struggles, with shares falling 16% this year through last Thursday, though they rebounded slightly on Friday.
Walker warned that even the current goal of including these features in iOS 19 next year remains uncertain, saying “it doesn’t mean that we’re shipping then.” The company faces multiple competing priorities across hardware and software development.
“We have other commitments across Apple to other projects,” Walker explained, noting decisions on timing would be made case-by-case as work progresses.
In closing the meeting, Walker maintained an optimistic tone despite acknowledging “plenty of hard work ahead.” He promised that Apple would eventually “ship the world’s greatest virtual assistant,” though reports suggest truly competitive Siri upgrades might not arrive until 2027.
“We’ll make the adjustments that we need to have a better outcome going forward,” Walker concluded.
