Apple Admits Siri Won’t Be Cleaning Your Floors Anytime Soon

Apple Home was expected to support robot vacuums once iOS 18 hit iPhones a few months ago. The ability enables hands-free commanding of the connected appliance through Siri, so all you have to yell is “Siri!” to put the bot to work. However, months after the software update’s debut, the ability is still missing.

Flagged by MacRumors, Apple subtly tweaked the Home webpage when no one was looking to let users know that the robot vacuum control feature is delayed until early 2025. The change is embedded in a teeny, tiny footnote at the bottom of this page, which also mentions that the feature will only be available to Siri in U.S. English at launch.

The website initially declared that HomeKit would see its big update by the end of 2024. We’re currently veering toward the end of that year. Apple fans had hoped that robot vacuum controls would arrive by iOS 18.2, which rolled out last month.

The lack of robot vacuum access has bothered Apple Home users for a while. A simple search nets Reddit posts and community forum complaints about the lack of controls available to robot vacuums through the ecosystem. Apple users have had to concoct third-party solutions and carefully study the list of compatible hardware to facilitate any automation. That includes simple abilities like turning the vacuum on and off and changing between mopping and vacuuming modes if available.

Support for automation with robot vacuums was only added a year ago as part of an update to the Matter 1.2 standard. If you have a robot vacuum in an Apple-led household, you’ll have to use the device’s default app to set it up. Since it can’t manage automation with other devices natively, you’d have to use another service, further complicating the smart home setup.

This isn’t the only feature Apple has delayed since its exciting announcements earlier in the year at its annual developer conference. Siri’s Apple Intelligence infusion won’t arrive until January 2025.

Admittedly, I’ve allowed my robot vacuum to wither away in the corner of the family room. I only recognize it when I remember I still haven’t set it up to do the work for me. At least diehard Apple fans who have built their smart homes around Apple’s HomeKit aren’t having it any easier than me. Though unlike me, it’s not by their own doing.