Apple has struck a major multi-year partnership with Google to integrate Gemini models as the foundation for next-generation Apple Intelligence features — most notably a long-awaited, significantly smarter and more personalized version of Siri set to arrive later in 2026.
After a rocky rollout of Apple Intelligence, repeated delays to Siri’s advanced capabilities, and mounting pressure to catch up in the generative AI race, Cupertino is leaning on Google’s leading technology while preserving its signature privacy protections through Private Cloud Compute. This deal not only marks a strategic win for Google’s Gemini as a dominant force in consumer AI, but also signals Apple’s candid acknowledgment that internal development alone wasn’t enough to deliver the transformative experiences users expect — setting the stage for a pivotal year where execution will determine whether Apple Intelligence finally becomes a compelling reason to users upgrade or remains in the shadow of rivals.
Allison Johnson for The Verge:
The mess that was the Apple Intelligence rollout was embarrassing, to be sure, but through it all, the company kept doing what it does best: selling iPhones. With this week’s news that it’ll use Gemini models to power the long-awaited smarter Siri, Apple seems to have taken a big ‘ol L in the whole AI race. But there’s still a major challenge ahead — and Apple isn’t out of the running just yet.
this week’s deal isn’t about adding a quick way to chat with Gemini on an iPhone. You can already do that in the Gemini app. This is about building smarter Siri on Google’s models and running it all in Apple’s Private Cloud Compute. If and when a smarter Siri arrives this year, it’ll have some serious Gemini DNA.
You could argue Apple made the right call from a business standpoint, but was it the right Apple move? Consider Tim Cook’s own words in a 2009 earnings call: “We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make…”
That’s the real challenge ahead of Apple: turning Apple Intelligence into a product people actually want, not one that they feel indifferent toward. It needs to turn Siri into the thing the company has promised all along, not a glorified timer-setting machine.
MacDailyNews Take: Of course, those aren’t Tim Cook’s original words — they’re merely a reiteration of Steve Jobs’ words from years prior, much like how Cook reiterates products that were created under the visionary Jobs:
“I’ve always wanted to own and control the primary technology in everything we do.” – Steve Jobs, October 12, 2004
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No.
I already told you … Jobs is dead. No Jobs, Tim Apple = NO INNOVATION
Apple can’t. That’s why Apple will use Gemini and other models embedded in the iOS. Apple is not a leader anymore, just a “me too” company.