Siri is getting new management.
Apple announced Monday it's partnering with Google to use Gemini models for the next version of its voice assistant. The multiyear deal means Google's AI will power key parts of Apple Intelligence, the company's AI system that's been struggling to catch up with competitors.
This isn't a small pivot: Apple has spent years building its reputation on privacy and control, keeping everything in-house when possible. Now it's handing one of its most visible features to its biggest rival. The partnership reportedly costs Apple around $1 billion per year.
What's Actually Changing
The updated Siri is expected to launch with iOS 26.4 sometime in March or April. It's running late. Apple originally planned to ship it earlier, but delays pushed the timeline back.
Google's Gemini will power what Apple calls its "Foundational Models"—the underlying AI that makes Siri more conversational and personalized. Bloomberg reported Apple is deploying a 1.2 trillion parameter AI model for the new assistant. That's massive. For context, GPT-3 used 175 billion parameters.
But Apple isn't going all-in on Google. The company will continue using its own models for certain Apple Intelligence features. Think of it as a hybrid approach: Google handles the heavy lifting for Siri, while Apple keeps control over other parts of the ecosystem.
The Cloud Question
Here's where things get interesting. Apple has always been allergic to cloud dependency. The company built its brand on device-level processing and end-to-end encryption. Yet this deal explicitly includes Google's cloud technology.
That means some of your Siri requests will bounce through Google's servers. Apple hasn't detailed exactly how it plans to maintain its privacy promises while routing data through a company whose business model is built on information collection.
Why Now?
Apple got embarrassed by ChatGPT. When OpenAI launched in late 2022, it exposed how far behind Apple had fallen in conversational AI. Siri could set timers and read texts. ChatGPT could write essays and debug code.
The company tried to catch up on its own. Apple Intelligence launched last year with modest capabilities. Users weren't impressed. Apple needed firepower fast, and building that in-house would take years it doesn't have.
Google, meanwhile, has been racing to make Gemini indispensable. The company already pays Apple billions annually to be the default search engine on Safari. Now it's paying to power the voice assistant too. That's not a coincidence. Google wants to be embedded so deeply in the iPhone experience that ripping it out becomes unthinkable.
The Irony Nobody's Talking About
Apple and Google have been locked in smartphone warfare since 2007. Steve Jobs famously called Android a "stolen product" and vowed to go "thermonuclear" on Google. Tim Cook has spent years positioning Apple as the privacy-respecting alternative to Google's data-hungry model.
Now Apple is essentially admitting it can't build competitive AI alone. The company that revolutionized personal computing, music players, and smartphones is outsourcing its AI brain to the very company it spent years vilifying. The partnership also raises questions about Apple's long-term AI strategy: Is this a temporary stopgap while Apple builds its own models, or has the company decided that competing with Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic in the AI arms race isn't worth the investment?
What Users Will Notice
If everything goes according to plan, not much. The new Siri should feel smarter and more natural. It should understand context better and handle complex requests without falling apart.
You probably won't see "Powered by Google Gemini" plastered across the interface. Apple doesn't work that way. The company will market this as an Apple Intelligence upgrade, with Google's role buried in the fine print and technical documentation.
But developers will notice. The shift to Gemini models means anyone building on top of Siri needs to understand how Google's AI behaves differently from Apple's previous approach. That could create compatibility headaches as the transition unfolds.
The real test comes in March or April when iOS 26.4 drops. Users will judge whether Siri finally feels like it belongs in 2026, or whether it's still the punchline it's been for the past decade.