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Apple is set to enhance its virtual assistant Siri by incorporating Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence model, in a significant partnership that underscores the rapid evolution of consumer AI technologies. The collaboration, detailed in a Bloomberg report on Sunday, will see Gemini powering advanced features within Siri, particularly for complex queries and multimodal tasks, without Apple publicly acknowledging the use of a rival’s technology. Internally codenamed AFM v10—referring to the 10th version of Apple’s Foundation Models—the integration aims to close the gap with leading chatbots like ChatGPT and Grok, amid criticism of Siri’s limitations in reasoning and contextual understanding.
The move follows Apple’s announcement at WWDC 2025 of Apple Intelligence, its suite of on-device AI tools, which has faced delays in rollout. By leveraging Gemini, Apple seeks to deliver faster, more accurate responses, including image generation and deeper integration with apps like Messages and Notes.
The partnership, expected to launch with iOS 19 in 2026, represents a pragmatic shift for Apple, which has traditionally prioritised in-house development. Executives reportedly view it as a bridge until Apple’s own models catch up, with potential expansions to third-party apps via satellite connectivity for off-grid use.
Technical and Strategic Implications
Gemini, Google’s multimodal model capable of processing text, images and video, will handle backend processing for Siri suggestions and proactive intelligence features. Benchmarks from independent tests show Gemini outperforming Apple’s current models in areas like real-time translation and creative tasks, with latency reductions of up to 30% in cloud-hybrid setups. Privacy remains a focus: Queries routed to Gemini will use anonymised data, complying with Apple’s end-to-end encryption standards.
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This alliance highlights the competitive pressure on Apple, whose market capitalisation briefly dipped below $3 trillion last month amid AI scepticism. Rivals like Samsung have already integrated Gemini into Galaxy devices, while OpenAI’s GPT-5 advances reasoning benchmarks. Analysts at Bernstein estimate the deal could cost Apple $2-3 billion annually in licensing fees, but boost iPhone upgrades by 15% through enhanced AI experiences.
Challenges include user trust—Apple plans no disclosure of Gemini’s role to avoid perceptions of dependency—and regulatory scrutiny under the EU’s AI Act, which classifies high-capability models like Gemini as systemic risks.
Broader Industry Context
The partnership arrives amid a flurry of AI integrations: Meta’s $600 billion data centre spend and Nvidia’s Blackwell chip demand signal infrastructure races, while Google’s Threat Intelligence Group warned of state actors misusing AI for cyber operations. For consumers, it promises a more seamless ecosystem, but raises questions about innovation silos breaking down in the face of rapid progress.
As AI assistants evolve from voice commands to anticipatory companions, Apple’s Gemini adoption could accelerate adoption rates, projected to reach 80% of smartphones by 2027 per IDC. Yet, it also exposes the limitations of proprietary approaches in an era where collaboration may be key to staying relevant. With beta testing underway, the full impact on daily interactions will soon be felt.
