New Siri AI Frustrates iPhone and Apple Watch Users With Reliability Issues

Apple’s redesigned Siri AI has finally begun reaching users as part of the company’s latest software rollout, bringing a much more ambitious vision for its long-running voice assistant. The new Siri is designed to understand personal context, answer broader questions, recognize what is displayed on screen and perform more actions across Apple’s apps.

However, the early experience has not been universally positive. As more iPhone and Apple Watch owners gain access to Siri AI, users are reporting a range of problems involving connectivity, speed, device access and commands that previously worked reliably with classic Siri.

Apple is currently labeling the new assistant as a beta, and that distinction is important. The company has indicated that the system will continue to receive improvements, while additional language support is expected to expand in the coming weeks. Still, for people using Siri throughout the day, some of the reported problems can make basic tasks unexpectedly difficult.

Here are five of the most common complaints emerging around the new Siri AI.

1. Siri AI Can Run Into Network Problems

One of the most frustrating issues reported by users is a failure to connect properly when Siri AI is invoked.

Some people have encountered a message indicating that something went wrong instead of receiving an answer or completing the requested action. Reports suggest that network configuration can sometimes play a role, with VPN settings or changing Wi-Fi connections potentially affecting whether Siri works correctly.

The problem becomes particularly inconvenient because Siri does not always explain what caused the failure. Users may therefore be left wondering whether the issue is their internet connection, Apple’s servers or the assistant itself.

The new Siri relies heavily on cloud processing, including Apple’s Private Cloud Compute infrastructure. That means connectivity can have a more noticeable impact than users may expect from a traditional voice assistant.

2. Siri Sometimes Cannot Find Information That Classic Siri Could

The new Siri is supposed to make it easier to locate information and perform actions across an iPhone. Yet some users are reporting the opposite experience.

Examples include Siri failing to locate a grocery list in Reminders or claiming that alarms do not exist when they have previously been configured. Similar complaints have appeared involving smart-home accessories that Siri cannot consistently identify by name.

Some of these failures appear to be connected to indexing or search-related problems. Because Siri AI is intended to understand personal information across different apps, its ability to locate the correct data is central to the experience.

Apple Watch users have also reported unusual behavior, including Siri claiming that an application such as Clock is not installed when attempting to perform a basic timer-related task.

These kinds of errors can be particularly confusing because the requested functions themselves are relatively simple.

3. Some Siri Requests Require an Unlocked iPhone

Another major complaint involves Siri AI’s apparent requirement for the iPhone to be unlocked for certain requests.

This can happen even when users have enabled the setting that allows Siri to operate while the device is locked. The limitation appears to affect requests that require Siri to access personal information or its semantic index.

For example, someone might expect to use Siri while walking, driving or wearing AirPods without touching their phone. Classic Siri could handle many of those interactions while the device remained locked.

The new system can instead require users to unlock the iPhone before completing the request.

That creates an awkward situation for an assistant that is supposed to make hands-free interaction easier. A simple request such as sending a message can become a multi-step process if the phone first has to be unlocked.

4. Siri AI Can Feel Slow, Especially on Apple Watch

Speed is another recurring complaint.

The new Siri combines on-device processing with cloud-based systems, meaning the time required to answer a request can depend partly on the network connection and the workload being handled remotely.

For straightforward commands, that delay can feel especially noticeable because users are accustomed to Siri responding almost immediately.

The issue is reportedly more obvious on Apple Watch. Owners using Siri AI through watchOS 27 have described delays for basic actions such as starting a short timer or sending a message.

An Apple Watch is often used precisely because it allows users to perform quick tasks without reaching for an iPhone. A delay of several seconds can therefore make the new assistant feel less convenient than its predecessor.

The contrast is also important because users may not care how sophisticated the underlying AI system is if a simple voice command takes noticeably longer to complete.

5. Some Familiar Siri Features Are Missing or Unreliable

The fifth category involves functionality that users previously associated with classic Siri.

Despite the much broader capabilities of Siri AI, not every feature from the older assistant has made the transition. Apple currently documents limitations involving requests for information from the Health app, while some users have also noticed changes involving the ChatGPT integration.

Certain familiar command phrases can also produce unexpected results. Classic Siri operated within a relatively narrow set of capabilities, while the new system is designed to understand much broader natural-language requests.

That wider scope can create ambiguity. A phrase that previously had an obvious meaning to Siri may now be interpreted differently by the newer system.

For longtime Siri users, this can be frustrating because established habits do not necessarily translate perfectly to the new assistant.

Siri AI Is Still a Work in Progress

The complaints do not necessarily mean that Siri AI is fundamentally unsuccessful. The system represents a significant change from Apple’s earlier voice assistant and introduces capabilities that classic Siri did not offer.

Apple says Siri AI can use personal context from information such as messages, emails and photos, while also understanding what is displayed on the screen. It can answer broader questions and perform more sophisticated actions across Apple’s ecosystem.

But the current rollout is explicitly a beta, and the early reports show why Apple still has work to do.

Beyond functional problems, users have also criticized aspects of the interface, including prominent Siri controls, changes to familiar gestures and the way spoken requests are presented visually.

For people who depend on Siri for everyday tasks, reliability may ultimately matter more than the number of new AI features.

Apple has not provided a detailed public roadmap for every planned improvement, although additional language support is expected. Until further updates arrive, users experiencing persistent problems can also switch back to classic Siri through the device’s Screen Time settings.

The arrival of Siri AI marks an important new chapter for Apple’s assistant, but its early rollout demonstrates that making an AI assistant more capable is only part of the challenge. It also needs to be fast, dependable and predictable when users need it most.