After months of speculation and rumors, Apple has finally confirmed a major shift in its artificial intelligence strategy. The company itself has been unable to catch up in the segment by itself after a late entry. So, Apple announced it will use Google’s Gemini technology to power the next generation of Siri .
Siri is getting a brain transplant: Google Gemini will transform your iPhone
The choice comes after a long process of evaluation. We all know that Apple usually likes to keep its technology in-house. However, the company did say that Google ‘s models are the best base for its future AI features . The new Siri, which could arrive later this year, will probably be a lot better than older versions.
It’s been a long time coming for the upgrade. Apple first hinted at a smarter, more personalized Siri at its 2024 developers conference, but then things got delayed. The company said that the integration was taking longer than they had planned. Apple wants to keep those promises now that Google has released Gemini 3, which gives the project its underlying power.
What users can expect
The main goal of this update is to make Siri seem more like a personal assistant and less like a simple voice command tool. The new version will put more emphasis on personal context and being aware of what’s on the screen. This means that Siri should be able to figure out what you’re looking at or find information in your emails and messages that isn’t obvious to answer hard questions. For instance, a user might want to know about their flight status or dinner reservation without having to say which app the information is in. Siri will be able to look up information from different parts of the iPhone’s ecosystem and give you a helpful, short answer. The update is also expected to add more control options to apps. This will let the assistant do certain things for the user.
Behind the scenes
This partnership will be a multi-year deal . Neither company has said exactly how much money is involved, but industry sources say that Apple could be paying around $1 billion a year to use Google’s infrastructure. Apple isn’t giving up on its own work because of this deal. It looks like it’s a mix of both, with Apple’s internal models doing some tasks and Gemini handling more difficult “world knowledge” questions and data processing. This announcement comes at the same time as a change in leadership in Apple’s AI department. Apple seems determined to catch up in the AI race now that it has new leaders and a strong partner in Google. If current projections hold, users should get these new features in a software update in the spring, probably in March or April.
