Apple Inc : Apple Inc.’s long-promised overhaul for the Siri digital assistant is facing engineering problems and software bugs, threatening to postpone or limit its release, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Getting Siri right is especially crucial for Apple which first introduced the digital assistant in 2011 as a groundbreaking interface. After falling behind competitors, the technology has come to represent the company’s shortcomings in artificial intelligence.
The company first unveiled plans for a new artificial-intelligence-infused Siri at its developers’ conference last June and has even advertised some of the features to customers. But Apple is still racing to finish the software, said the people who asked not to be identified because the situation is private. Some features originally planned for April may have to be postponed until May or later, they said.
