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Apple Explains How Gemini-Powered Siri Will Work

Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday reiterated the structure of its partnership with Google to use Gemini AI models for the next generation version of Siri.

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During the company's Q1 2026 earnings call yesterday, Apple CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ and CFO Kevan Parekh were asked several questions about Apple Intelligence and the company's recently announced deal with Google to power the personalized version of ‌Siri‌ using Gemini.


We basically determined that Google's AI technology would provide the most capable foundation for AFM (Apple Foundation Models), and we believe that we can unlock a lot of experiences and innovate in a key way due to the collaboration. We'll continue to run on the device and run in Private Cloud Compute and maintain our industry-leading privacy standards in doing so. In terms of the arrangement with Google, we're not releasing the details of that.

That description closely matches language from Apple and Google's earlier joint announcement, which said that ‌Apple Intelligence‌ would continue to operate on Apple hardware and Private Cloud Compute.

Cook also addressed Apple's own artificial intelligence development efforts, noting that the company continues to build its own technology alongside the Gemini partnership, but clarified that those efforts do not replace Google's role in the personalized ‌Siri‌ system.


You should think of it as a collaboration. And we'll obviously independently continue to do some of our own stuff, but you should think of what is going to power the personalized version of Siri as a collaboration with Google.

When asked about monetization and return on investment, Cook framed ‌Apple Intelligence‌ as a feature integrated across Apple's platforms rather than a discrete revenue driver.

We're bringing intelligence to more of what people love and we're integrating it across the operating system in a personal and private way, and I think that by doing so, it creates great value, and that opens up a range of opportunities across our products and services. And we're very happy with the collaboration with Google as well, I should add.

Neither Cook nor Parekh disclosed how many users currently have access to ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features or whether those capabilities are driving hardware upgrades. Apple previously acknowledged that ‌Apple Intelligence‌ is limited to devices with sufficient memory and processing capacity, which constrains availability somewhat.

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Top Rated Comments

6 weeks ago
They didn't explain much at all actually.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
6 weeks ago
This headline would be effective if it said "Apple Explains that Gemini-Powered Siri Will Work."
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sunapple Avatar
6 weeks ago
While the underlying Google technology was perfectly able to understand you wanted a one-minute egg timer, the additional layer of Apple-designed Personalised Siri will ensure the familiar response users love, directing you to whatever it may find on the web.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
6 weeks ago

In terms of the arrangement with Google, we're not releasing the details of that.
that explains everything.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProbablyDylan Avatar
6 weeks ago
I don't know why we're pretending it's about capability. It's about stability.

Anthropic and OpenAI might not be around in 12 months
Meta is socially toxic
Deepseek is politically toxic

That basically just leaves Google.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
6 weeks ago

Google’s Gemini has a much better chance to succeed vs the rivals due to the sheer volume of people using Google products worldwide, continuously feeding more and more data into it. Google are also getting more and more comfortable with their market position, for example asking people for more information when trying to create a new Google account linked to a non-Google email and actively encouraging Gmail users to turn on “Smart Features”. They also seem to be censoring Gemini responses. Try asking Gemini how to download a torrent file in iOS, for example. 😉

My concern is that once Google see that Apple is comfortable with how their Siri collaboration is going, they might want to repeat their Google Maps trick, when Google asked Apple for more user data, Apple said “No” and then had to bake up Apple Maps as a quick fix, pretending they wanted to do it all along. Apple Maps are very useable by now, depending on your country, but the launch was a disaster, as many will remember.

So I hope Apple know what they are doing and looking forward to a smarter Siri with iOS 26.4 and beyond.
Also I'd argue that Apple Maps has never really recovered from its disastrous launch in terms of general public perception.

Even now, people I know won't use it as 'it's not very good isn't it?'. You can't part them from Google Maps.

I wonder then, if the forthcoming Siri relaunch - if they keep the same name - will share the same fate as Apple Maps, given that Siri has been a disaster zone for 10 years now.

'Siri has been updated, you say? I don't care, Siri is terrible, I use Gemini/ChatGPT' etc.

...Unless your key usage case for AI is setting timers. In which case, you're golden right now.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)