Originally published at: Apple Turns to Google’s Gemini to Power Siri and Apple Intelligence - TidBITS
In a remarkably understated joint announcement, Apple and Google said:
Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology. These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming this year.
After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google’s Al technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users. Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading privacy standards.
Foundation models are the core AI systems on which other features are built. It’s important to realize that Gemini is a family of large language, image, video, and companion models optimized for different tasks and scenarios. Even within Google products, the models users interact with vary widely: those in the Gemini Web interface and app are significantly more capable than those that power the AI Overviews at the top of Google Search. The AI Overviews feature likely uses a fast, lightweight Gemini variant optimized for speed, cost, and summarization, which would help explain why its answers are often much worse than those from the Gemini app.
Apple is likely downplaying this announcement because it’s embarrassing that it has so far failed to deliver AI models that match the quality and capabilities of those from Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic in real-world use. At least now Apple is moving forward with a technology stack that may enable the company to deliver a less stupid more personalized Siri and other Apple Intelligence features in updates to iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26 Tahoe. It remains to be seen how these improvements will extend to devices with less processing power, such as the Apple Watch, HomePod, and Apple TV, since routing queries through Private Cloud Compute would introduce noticeable lag.
Why Google?
Although Apple Intelligence features bolted-on connectivity to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Apple’s Craig Federighi told TechCrunch at the 2024 launch, “We’re looking forward to doing integrations with other models, including Google Gemini, for instance, in the future.”
It’s not surprising that Apple ultimately chose Google for a deeper partnership. While OpenAI and Anthropic models had long been considered the best, Google’s late 2025 release of the well-received Gemini 3 demonstrated the search giant could also be fully competitive in AI.
However, the deal isn’t exclusive. M.G. Siegler wrote that Apple isn’t replacing the current ChatGPT partnership. That’s sensible; even if Siri’s ChatGPT integration is nowhere near as satisfying as using ChatGPT directly, users react poorly to chatbots changing their personalities and capabilities.
Compared with OpenAI and Anthropic, Google is a more stable corporate partner for Apple, in part because of the long-standing deal that makes Google Search the default in Safari. Google is also a profitable company with multiple businesses, while OpenAI and Anthropic continue to burn billions in venture capital. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg suggested Apple would pay roughly $1 billion for access to Gemini—accounting aside, it’s a pittance compared to the $20 billion Google pays Apple for preferential search positioning.
I certainly hope Apple never even considered Meta’s Llama, trained in part on the cesspool of social media, or xAI’s Grok deepfake porn generator. Not that Apple or Google get a bye here, since they allow Grok to remain in the App Store and Google Play even though it has been widely documented as being used to generate guideline-violating content.
Despite this deal, I’m sure Apple will continue developing its own foundation models. When the iPhone launched in 2007, Apple Maps relied on mapping data and technology from Google Maps, which lasted until iOS 6 in 2012, when Apple launched Apple Maps with its own data. That may have been too early—the launch was rocky to say the least (see “Examining Maps in the Wake of Tim Cook’s Apology,” 28 September 2012), but now Apple Maps is comparable or even preferable to Google Maps. Apple hates being beholden to other companies and will undoubtedly be looking to switch back to its own technology in the future.