In a surprising shift for a company known for doing everything in-house, Apple has partnered with Google to power the next generation of Siri using Gemini AI technology. This multi-year deal represents a major change in Apple’s traditional approach of building everything themselves, marking their biggest reliance on outside AI help yet.
Apple breaks from its build-it-ourselves tradition by teaming with Google’s Gemini AI to supercharge Siri in unprecedented partnership.
The partnership will bring Google’s Gemini models into Apple’s systems to make Siri much smarter and more helpful. Users can expect better conversational abilities, improved answers to factual questions, and even emotional support when needed. Siri will also remember past conversations and offer proactive suggestions, like reminding you about calendar events or helping you book travel plans. The enhanced assistant can even help create documents in the Notes app, such as recipes. Many users will be able to invest in the feature rollout through fractional share updates that allow phased access.
Apple looked at several options before choosing Google, including OpenAI and Anthropic. The deal isn’t exclusive though, meaning Apple can still work with other AI providers like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. According to Deepwater Asset Management, Google could earn at least $5 billion from this partnership over several years, making it a significant win for both companies. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported a possible annual license fee of around $1 billion to use Google’s AI technology.
Privacy remains a top priority despite the collaboration. Apple will process simple tasks on your device as usual, while more complex questions get handled on Apple-controlled servers using adapted Gemini models. All data stays encrypted and private, following Apple’s strict standards. Curiously, there’s no Google or Gemini branding visible in Siri’s latest design. The joint statement emphasized that Apple Intelligence will maintain compatibility with Apple’s existing architecture while leveraging Google’s cloud technology.
The improved Siri is expected to launch this spring around March or April with iOS 26.4. More features will be announced at Apple’s developer conference in June, with some arriving later in iOS 27. This timeline finally delivers on Apple’s long-promised Siri upgrades after multiple delays.
This partnership challenges Apple’s device-first philosophy but lets them offer cutting-edge features today while continuing to develop their own AI technology behind the scenes. It positions Gemini as potentially the default AI on iPhones, similar to how Google Search became the default browser option.
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