Technologies

Stay Patient, Apple Fans: Siri AI Delayed Again to Late 2026 at the Earliest

Bloomberg reports that numerous issues are holding up the advanced version of Siri, including lag time, data access concerns and accuracy issues.

It’s Groundhog Day for Siri yet again, as Apple plans another in a long series of delays to the Siri AI upgrade, according to a Bloomberg report released on Wednesday.

According to Bloomberg sources from inside Apple, the reinvented Siri voice assistant, including AI features reminiscent of Alexa Plus, has been delayed from the March iPhone iOS 24.6 update to a release later this year, potentially in May, September or later.

A representative from Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Following repeated delays after announcing the advanced Siri in 2024, Apple gave a broad 2026 timeline for releasing the new voice assistant, widely expected to be included in iOS 26.4. Now, Bloomberg reports that the latest internal testing shows Siri still isn’t up to the task and is likely to remain out of reach for consumers for now.

This current version of Siri uses an architecture dubbed Linwood, combining Apple’s own large language model with technology from Google’s Gemini AI. The mix is expected to add AI tools such as new web searches and image generation, as well as a chatbot-style Siri AI (code-named Campo), initially slated for iOS 27.

What features are holding Super Siri up?

Much of what Bloomberg reports in this latest release is similar to what we heard last year. The new Siri is too slow, struggles with complex commands, and isn’t meshing well with Apple’s own AI models or with services like ChatGPT. But there are a few new rumors here that show a more complete picture:

Issues with data access: Bloomberg reports that Apple is pulling back on plans to have Siri scan more personal data, such as reviewing your old text messages to find a shared song or podcast. The feature may come later, but for now it’s being delayed — perhaps consumer concerns over AI privacy are playing a role, too.
App intents: Intents are Apple’s version of letting Siri complete in-app tasks. For example, Apple wants Siri to be able to find a photo, apply a filter, and post it to your socials or message it to a friend, all in one command. This feature doesn’t appear reliable yet.
Siri gets terse: Bloomberg contacts also report that Siri is acting up when getting especially quick or complex commands, interrupting users before they can finish and requiring a complete restart.

Why is Apple so late to the voice assistant AI?

I’ve already been experimenting with Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home for months, and I like the results so far. Alexa Plus, in particular (free for Prime users and casual chatters, $20 for the complete package), is much more conversational, understands complex commands, and can tap into brand-new third-party app integrations. Gemini for Home, meanwhile, excels at answering multi-step questions in the app and analyzing video footage. That raises the question of why Apple’s own venture into this space has taken so long.

While I can’t read the minds of Apple devs, it’s clear that Apple invested less in LLMs and generative AI than Google and Amazon did at the start, and is now moving very cautiously into this technology. Given that Alexa Plus doesn’t always know what it can or can’t do and Gemini for Home still struggles with voice chats, I can see why Apple may want to wait for a highly polished product.

Since Apple has been delaying these advanced versions of Siri for well over a year already, it’s clear the company has no problem taking its time and finding a version of Siri AI it’s happy with. According to Bloomberg’s report, we could start seeing betas for these new Siri features in iOS 26.5 or iOS 27 as the slow climb to public release continues.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, March 11

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 11.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I thought it was a bit tricky. 1-Down is one of those old-fashioned comic-book sounds that I had to remember how to spell correctly. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Study of the human mind, informally
Answer: PSYCH

6A clue: Common fixture in a gym bathroom
Answer: SCALE

7A clue: Kinda boring
Answer: HOHUM

8A clue: Like a commenter without a username, for short
Answer: ANON

9A clue: «All good between us?»
Answer: WEOK

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Old-fashioned «Yeah, right!»
Answer: PSHAW

2D clue: Coffeehouse pastry
Answer: SCONE

3D clue: Google alternative
Answer: YAHOO

4D clue: Sound of a dull thump
Answer: CLUNK

5D clue: Line on the bottom of a pant leg
Answer: HEM

Technologies

OnePlus and Oppo to Raise Smartphone Prices as Memory Costs Climb

Oppo says rising costs for key phone components will trigger price adjustments on some devices starting March 16.

Chinese smartphone-makers OnePlus and Oppo plan to raise prices on some existing models starting next week, according to a 9to5Google report citing GizmoChina and a notice posted on Oppo’s China online store.

In its notice, Oppo said it would adjust pricing after evaluating rising costs for several key components used in its mobile phones. The changes are expected to take effect around March 16 and will affect some of the company’s more affordable smartphones, as well as some OnePlus models.

Flagship devices — like those in the Find and Reno series — are not expected to be affected for now. The reported adjustments currently appear to be limited to China.

The move highlights growing pressure across the smartphone supply chain as component costs climb. Analysts say prices for memory and storage chips used in phones have been rising in recent months as demand surges across the tech industry.

Much of the chip demand is coming from the rapid buildout of AI data centers, which rely on large amounts of high-performance memory.

That pressure isn’t limited to Oppo and OnePlus. Analysts say smartphone brands across the industry are facing rising component costs amid increased demand for memory chips.

As manufacturers shift production toward higher-margin memory used in AI servers, supply for consumer electronics such as smartphones and laptops can tighten.

If component costs continue to rise, manufacturers may face difficult choices later this year, including raising retail prices or adjusting device specifications to offset higher manufacturing costs.

OnePlus and Oppo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

Harvard Business Review Study Finds ‘AI Brain Fry’ Is Leaving Workers Mentally Fatigued

Study participants reported increased mental fatigue while using AI tools, but less burnout overall.

Workers who excessively use AI agents and tools at work are at increased risk of mental fatigue, according to a recent Harvard Business Review study. In certain industries, more than 25% of hired professionals report increased mental strain due to their role in AI oversight — though these professionals also generally experienced less burnout than peers who aren’t using AI.

This phenomenon — which the researchers refer to as «AI brain fry» — is described as a «‘buzzing’ feeling or a mental fog» that caused study participants to develop headaches and difficulty focusing and making decisions. Individuals pointed to being overwhelmed by large amounts of information and to frequent task switching as the reasons for these feelings.

Studied individuals experienced more brain fry when they utilized AI agents to manage a workload beyond their own cognitive capacity. When participants used AI to replace mundane, repetitive tasks, managing the growing number of tools led to increased mental fatigue.

Crucially, the study found that fewer individuals who used these AI agents reported workplace burnout.

The researchers predict that this is because burnout testing assesses emotional and physical distress. In contrast, they report, acute mental fatigue «is caused by marshalling attention, working memory and executive control beyond the limited capacity of these systems.»

These are the processes that are taxed when study participants use multiple AI tools in their workflow, according to the researchers.

The Harvard study identifies several business costs incurred by workers suffering from AI brain fry. The foremost consequence is that these individuals may end up making lower-quality decisions. «Workers in [the] study who endorsed AI brain fry experience 33% more decision fatigue than those who did not,» the study reports. Workers who report AI brain fry were also more likely to self-report making both minor and major errors at their jobs.

Another recent Harvard Business Review study similarly found that employees who use AI tools «worked at a faster pace, took on a broader scope of tasks and extended work into more hours of the day,» but warned that «workload creep can in turn lead to cognitive fatigue, burnout and weakened decision-making.»