Apple Taps Google Gemini to Power a Major Siri Overhaul

Apple partners with Google AI for a major Siri upgrade

Apple is quietly preparing a meaningful refresh for Siri by licensing a custom version of Google’s Gemini model, according to reporting from Bloomberg. The truth is — this isn’t a minor backend tweak. It’s about giving Siri access to a far larger large language model for voice assistant use (reports point to a 1.2 trillion parameter LLM) so the assistant can actually reason, summarize, and plan like a real helper. Apple will apparently host the model on Apple-owned Private Cloud Compute servers to keep user data isolated while paying Google a hefty sum — figures floated around roughly $1 billion per year.

Why this matters: a leap in capability

If you’ve been testing Siri and thinking it still trips over multi-step asks, this move explains why: the custom Gemini model is a step up from the roughly 150 billion parameter models Apple currently uses for some Apple Intelligence features. Practically, that means Siri could finally handle things like:

• Complex planning: turning multi-step instructions into a coherent plan — for example, “Book flights, pick seats, and draft an itinerary for a week in Tokyo” — and actually keeping track of the steps.
• Summarization: condensing long threads, articles, or meeting notes into clear action items and highlights. LLM-powered summarization that you can act on, not just a paragraph of fluff.
• Contextual reasoning across apps: keeping multi-turn dialog retention so follow-ups feel natural and Siri doesn’t forget earlier constraints or preferences.

How Apple will integrate Gemini — and retain control

According to sources, Apple plans to run Google’s customized model on reserved hardware within its Private Cloud Compute environment. That’s important: hosting the model on Apple’s infrastructure is their privacy-first AI deployment play — they want the model horsepower but control where the data lives. Apple’s own models won’t disappear; they’ll operate alongside Gemini for specialized tasks and to limit when external inference is used.

Inside Apple this initiative goes by code names — the program is reportedly 'Glenwood,' led by Mike Rockwell and Craig Federighi, while the assistant refresh itself is called 'Linwood.' The target is to surface these improvements in the iOS 26.4 cycle, though timelines in product work are famously fluid.

Apple’s temporary reliance on an outside model

Apple evaluated multiple vendors — Google Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT family, Anthropic’s Claude — and chose Gemini largely for its performance and engineering maturity. That decision speaks to reality: building a comparably powerful model in-house (they’re aiming at the ~1 trillion parameter range) takes time, people, and retention — areas where Apple has felt pinch. So yes, this is pragmatic — an external model to accelerate features while they finish their own cloud-based model.

To be fair, Apple treats this as a stopgap. Teams are actively developing an Apple-hosted, large language model that could reach consumer-grade readiness within about a year. The long-term plan remains to migrate Siri to Apple-developed models once they meet privacy and quality standards.

What features will Gemini support?

Bloomberg’s reporting suggests Gemini will back the most model-intensive pieces of Siri — the summarizer (LLM-powered summarization that extracts and condenses information) and the planner (the model-in-the-loop planner component that creates step-by-step recommendations). These parts benefit from a higher-capacity 1.2T parameter LLM capable of reasoning across many tokens and disparate knowledge sources.

Notice how quiet the deal is designed to be: Google is a back-end supplier here, not a consumer-facing brand on the product. So while users get better responses, they likely won’t see 'Powered by Gemini' labels the way Google Search appears in Safari. That fits Apple’s historic preference for subtlety.

Regional considerations: China and other markets

Because Google services are restricted in China, Apple intends a different approach there. Expect a mix of Apple’s own models plus region-specific content filters built with local partners like Alibaba, and possibly feature-level collaborations with Baidu in some cases. In short — Siri’s behavior will be region-specific to satisfy local regulations and operational limits.

Market and industry effects

News of the agreement nudged both Apple and Alphabet shares higher briefly — investors clearly like product differentiation tied to AI. Beyond Apple, many enterprises and consumer apps are adopting Gemini or Google’s Vertex AI platform; enterprise Vertex AI adoption is a real trend. But this pact underlines a broader theme: even the biggest tech firms sometimes license external expertise to accelerate product development.

From my experience, these partnerships can deliver fast, visible user-facing upgrades, but they also create runway pressure to develop comparable internal capabilities. Build vs. buy trade-offs are emotional and technical — and they always leave a few fingerprints.

One hypothetical example: a smarter trip-planning Siri

Picture this: you say, “Plan a 5-day trip to Kyoto in May, preferring temples, local food, and kid-friendly days.” A Gemini-powered Siri could draft a day-by-day itinerary, suggest reserves (and tentatively hold tickets with your ok), summarize expected costs, and flag travel requirements — all while keeping the dialog context if you later ask to shift dates or budget. That’s the multi-step workflow Siri could handle once the planner component and multi-turn dialog retention are working smoothly.

Privacy, transparency, and branding

Hosting the model in Apple’s private cloud is their privacy-first AI deployment stance in action. Still, questions remain: will Apple disclose that Siri uses Google’s model? Historically they’ve preferred minimal consumer-facing detail. Users — and regulators — may press for transparency about model licensing agreements and whether data is shared with Google. Those are reasonable questions: Will my Siri data be shared with Google? — short answer Apple is structuring it to avoid that, but the nuances matter.

Key takeaways

• Short-term: Apple will use a custom Google Gemini model (likely a 1.2T-parameter LLM) to accelerate Siri’s summarization and planning features — think better multi-step workflows and LLM-powered summarization.
• Deployment: The model will run on Apple Private Cloud Compute servers to isolate user data and follow a privacy-first AI deployment model.
• Long-term: Apple is building its own large-scale models (targeting near 1T parameters) with the aim to replace the third-party model once parity and privacy controls are met.
• Region-specific plans: China isn’t getting Gemini; Apple will combine homegrown models with local filtering partners like Alibaba and potentially Baidu integrations.

Further reading and sources

For the original reporting, see Bloomberg’s coverage. For context on model hosting and enterprise adoption, Google’s Vertex AI documentation and third-party LLM benchmarks are useful. Learn more in our guide to model hosting on private cloud.

Honestly, this deal feels pragmatic. Apple speeds up Siri’s capabilities while continuing to invest in homegrown models. It shows how the industry mixes internal strengths with external innovations to move faster. I’m curious — will users notice the difference when iOS 26.4 (or the rollout that follows) lands? My bet: yes, in a few everyday ways — better planning, clearer summaries, fewer “I’m not sure” moments. But the details — cost, transparency, and the pace of Apple replacing Gemini — will shape how people and regulators react.