Apple's development schedule for iOS 19 is facing setbacks as engineers remain focused on rolling out remaining iOS 18 features, according to recent reports from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The tech giant's new approach of gradually releasing iOS 18 features through multiple updates is creating a domino effect on the development timeline of its next major operating system. Engineers who would typically begin transitioning to iOS 19 development are still occupied with implementing features for iOS 18 through version 18.4, expected in spring.
This extended deployment strategy marks a departure from Apple's traditional software release pattern, where new features were announced at WWDC in June and released comprehensively in September alongside new iPhone models.
The impact of these delays extends to major planned features for iOS 19, including a substantial Siri upgrade powered by large language models. While Apple plans to preview this enhancement at WWDC 2025, users may need to wait until iOS 19.4 in spring 2026 to access the more conversational, ChatGPT-like assistant.
Reports indicate that "a larger-than-usual number of features" originally intended for iOS 19's initial release have been pushed back to version 19.4, suggesting broader implications for the operating system's development cycle.
The most recent iOS 18.2 update, released this week, brought several new Apple Intelligence features advertised since the iPhone 16 series launch in September. Looking ahead, iOS 18.3 and 18.4 are set to introduce on-screen awareness to Siri, deeper per-app controls, and additional enhancements.
This ongoing situation suggests that Apple users might experience similar staggered feature releases with iOS 19, potentially extending wait times for anticipated new capabilities well beyond the traditional fall release window.
Note: The third link about Powerbeats Pro was omitted as it was not directly relevant to the article content about iOS updates and development.