Apple has taken a decisive turn in its artificial intelligence strategy, choosing Google’s Gemini models to power future Apple Intelligence features.
In a statement posted on X, both companies confirmed that Gemini will form the backbone of upcoming AI capabilities across Apple’s ecosystem, including the long-awaited upgrade to Siri, expected later this year.
The move signals Apple’s willingness to rely on external AI leadership as it races to catch up with rivals that have already rolled out advanced generative AI features.
Siri has lagged behind competing assistants despite years of internal development. In October 2023, Apple first incorporated ChatGPT into Siri as a temporary solution. This collaboration made it possible for Siri to respond to challenging questions, yet the assistant's nature was not really altered.
With Gemini, Apple is intending not just to provide the normal responses but going much deeper and bringing up the main-source intelligence. Reportedly, Gemini will possess features like contextual understanding, multi-step reasoning, and more human-like conversations, which are the very features that have been in the Apple technical pipeline but the company has not been able to deploy effectively.
Apple's decision is indicative of the changes in the competitive AI landscape. In the last twelve months, Gemini has surpassed its competitors in various benchmarks and replaced ChatGPT in multi-modal reasoning and long-context problem-solving.
For Apple, which is often accused of not keeping up with the market when it comes to AI features, the decision seems to be a wise one. Google already has a large-scale AI infrastructure in place, thus making Gemini a less risky option for the implementation of features on millions of iPhones.
Also Read: OpenAI Hires Convogo Founders, Shuts Product in Talent-First Deal
The partnership with Gemini highlights Apple’s transformation from solely relying on in-house development to a more collaborative approach. So far, Apple has been creating its own proprietary models, but it has concluded that the only way to overtake the competitors in AI is through collaboration with other parties.
The success of Apple intelligence and Siri’s reinvention will depend on how seamlessly Gemini integrates into its privacy-first ecosystem. For now, the company has made its biggest AI bet yet.