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iOS 18 Updates Continue to Cause Delays in Apple's iOS 19 Plans

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Apple's staggered release of iOS 18 features is reportedly causing delays in the development of iOS 19, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light
Historically, Apple has unveiled new software features at WWDC in June and then released fully complete software updates in September alongside new iPhone models. However, thanks to the gradual rollout of Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18, iPhone users look set for a long wait before they get to use many of the new iOS 19 features that Apple will inevitably promote at WWDC 2025.

In a new post on X (Twitter), Gurman said that he continues to hear that engineers who would typically be transitioning to work on the next major iOS version are still occupied with implementing features for iOS 18 updates through iOS 18.4, expected in the spring.

Gurman reports that this extended rollout of iOS 18 features through various point releases is creating a cascading effect on iOS 19's development timeline. The situation is unfortunately expected to result in a similarly staggered deployment of features in the next iOS cycle that is likely to frustrate many Apple users.

The latest development follows a report from Gurman last month that iOS 19 will include a significant Siri upgrade powered by large language models, making the assistant more conversational and similar to ChatGPT. Apple is expected to preview this enhancement at WWDC 2025 in June, but it won't be available until iOS 19.4 in the spring of 2026.

The current focus on iOS 18 updates appears to be affecting more than just the Siri upgrade, though. Gurman in November said that "a larger-than-usual number of features" initially planned for iOS 19's release are now postponed until iOS 19.4.


Apple on Wednesday released iOS 18.2, introducing several new Apple Intelligence features that it has been advertising since September when the iPhone 16 series launched. iOS 18.2 is the last iOS update of 2024, with iOS 18.3 and iOS 18.4 set to bring on-screen awareness to Siri, deeper per-app controls, and several other enhancements.

Related Roundups: iOS 26, iPadOS 26
Tag: Mark Gurman
Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18, iOS 26

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Top Rated Comments

McWetty Avatar
McWetty
21 months ago
Maybe we should move to a 2-yr release schedule? Have a “snow leopard” release every tick-tock year?

Or just do point releases as features are done like normal software??
Score: 54 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
saudor
21 months ago
I’m ok with 2 year/longer release cycles for a more refined experience. Sounds like they’re playing catchup nowadays. The OS is really mature so it’s not like the days of iOS4 where each OS was a big leap forward compared to the previous.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
UltimateSyn Avatar
UltimateSyn
21 months ago
They would never do this, but I'll say it anyway: keep iOS 18 around another year. Take the development energy that would've been put into iOS 19 and use it to continue adding the Apple Intelligence features they love so dearly through 18.X upgrades and focus on removing bugs and cleaning up the OS. Win-win.
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
Account25476
21 months ago
Every single year, the same story. In fact, “Hello Apple Intelligence” is just a joke! Some countries received it yesterday (after announcing it 6 months ago), and in Europe, it’s still a pipe dream.

Apple is lucky it doesn’t have a competing ecosystem; otherwise, it would be struggling to survive.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
F
flybass
21 months ago

I’m ok with 2 year/longer release cycles for a more refined experience. Sounds like they’re playing catchup nowadays. The OS is really mature so it’s not like the days of iOS4 where each OS was a big leap forward compared to the previous.
It is a strange combination of mature and not mature as the same bugs somehow manage to crop up over and over again. It is like they don’t have test cases.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dannys1 Avatar
dannys1
21 months ago

The situation is unfortunately expected to result in a similarly staggered deployment of features in the next iOS cycle that is likely to frustrate many Apple users.
Here's an idea. Don't announce the features in June and no one will be "frustrated" by not having them in September. Announce them when they're ready to actual come out and we'll all be chuffed to find out we're getting something in January we didn't know existed.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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