Siri leaning on Gemini
- Apple is integrating external large models, striking deals to use Google's Gemini to improve Siri's personalization. - Google Cloud chief Thomas Kurian reportedly confirmed Gemini will power a more personalised Siri in 2026. - Reports say the move highlights Apple’s growing dependence on outside models and the integration and validation work that creates (en.tempo.co).
Apple’s next Siri will run on Google’s Gemini models, with Google Cloud chief Thomas Kurian saying the more personalized version is due later in 2026. (macrumors.com) Kurian made the comment at Google Cloud Next 2026 in Las Vegas on April 22, putting Google on stage as the company confirming a core piece of Apple’s Siri roadmap. Reuters reported on January 12 that Apple and Google had already struck a multiyear deal to use Gemini for a revamped Siri. (9to5mac.com) (usnews.com) Apple first pitched the upgrade at Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10, 2024, saying Siri would gain “personal context,” onscreen awareness, and the ability to take actions in and across apps. In March 2025, Apple said those features would slip to 2026 because they were taking longer than expected. (apple.com) (cnbc.com) “Personal context” is Apple’s term for a Siri that can use data already on your device — messages, calendar entries, files, and what is on your screen — to answer more specific requests. Apple’s developer documentation says those capabilities are still “in development” and will arrive in a future software update. (apple.com) (developer.apple.com) The shift leaves Apple using outside models for some of its highest-profile artificial intelligence features after years of building Siri largely in-house. Apple already added ChatGPT to Apple Intelligence in 2024 for some requests, and the Gemini deal extends that reliance from optional handoffs to Siri’s core upgrade. (apple.com) (cnbc.com) Apple has kept selling the privacy side of the system at the same time. Its June 2024 announcement said Apple Intelligence would run many tasks on-device and send heavier jobs to Private Cloud Compute, a server system Apple says is built with the same security model as its devices. (apple.com) That setup creates extra integration work because Siri has to connect Apple’s apps, third-party apps, personal data, and a Google model without breaking Apple’s privacy promises. Apple’s App Intents framework tells developers to expose app actions and onscreen content so Siri and Apple Intelligence can understand what a user is doing and act on it. (developer.apple.com 1) (developer.apple.com 2) The partnership also deepens one of Silicon Valley’s oldest rivalries at a moment when both companies are under pressure in artificial intelligence. Reuters said the January deal gave Google a distribution win on the iPhone while giving Apple a faster path to ship the Siri overhaul it had already advertised. (usnews.com) For Apple, the immediate test is no longer whether a more personal Siri exists on a keynote slide. It is whether the Gemini-backed version arrives in 2026 and does the jobs Apple demonstrated in June 2024. (apple.com) (macrumors.com)
