Robby Walker reportedly acknowledged that Apple may have set itself up for criticism by showcasing its plans too early.

Apple Inc.’s top executive overseeing its Siri virtual assistant told staff that delays to key features have been ugly and embarrassing, and a decision to publicly promote the technology before it was ready made matters worse.

Adding a voice assistant to the iPhone in 2011 was prescient. Since then, Siri hasn’t seemed able to catch a break. Why should that change now? Before I go any further, a programming note: On Thursday,

Siri has undergone some improvements thanks to Apple Intelligence, such as a new visual cue for when the assistant is active on the iPhone. When talking to the assistant on an iPhone 15 Pro or later, you can correct yourself in mid-sentence without confusing Siri and you can ask follow-up questions.

Apple has not confirmed if its delayed personalized Siri features were anything more than conceptual when they were announced during the WWDC

Per the inside account of Apple’s issues, Robby Walker, a senior director in Apple’s Siri division, held an all-hands meeting for the team and acknowledged that things were…not great. He acknowledged that team members might feel angry,

The whole details of a Siri team meeting chaired by senior director Robby Walker, who is in charge of the division, made the harsh remarks and is available at Bloomberg. He referred to the delay as an “ugly” scenario and expressed empathy for staff members who could be feeling exhausted or irritated by Apple’s choices and Siri’s still-unimpressive reputation further stating that the team was going through a difficult time.