Apple has finally chosen Google’s Gemini AI to power a more personalised version of its digital assistant Siri. The non-exclusive deal not only marks a major vote of confidence for Google but also says a lot about the complex relationship between the two tech giants, writes Banasree Purkayastha
l What is the deal all about?
APPLE AND GOOGLE have announced a multiyear Artificial Intelligence (AI) partnership that will see Google’s Gemini technology power the iPhone maker’s digital assistant Siri, which comes installed in every iPhone. “Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology. These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalised Siri coming this year,” the joint statement said. Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple’s privacy standards.
While it is not exactly clear how the exchange of technology will work, the partnership is good news for iPhone users who want AI features similar to what Google, Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers are bringing to their handsets. The deal has been in the making for some time now with Apple talking with Google to use Gemini foundation models to power the long-delayed new version of its voice assistant Siri coming later this year.
l How Apple will benefit
THE BENEFITS FOR Apple are quite obvious. A more capable Siri, as well as other AI features, will now reside in iPhones while guaranteeing user privacy, a core Apple promise. JP Morgan analysts have said that the multi-year partnership agreement reached with Google will help Apple accelerate its AI development. It will help Apple launch a series of upgraded AI features in 2026, including a more capable Siri. In addition, it will ensure that the iPhone maker can focus on user experience – its main USP.
However, it does suggest that Apple, once known for its vertical integration blueprint, is still struggling to build its own large language model (LLM). In a way, it has conceded that it has fallen behind in the AI race and needs help to remain relevant.
l What it says about Gemini
THE DEAL VALIDATES that Google has outpaced other AI contenders, especially first off the block OpenAI. In recent months, the search engine giant has allayed investors’ doubts about its AI strategy with its Gemini 3 model and the Nano Banana image generator and editor. Bank of America analysts have said that the deal reinforces Gemini’s position as the leading LLM for mobile devices. Soon after the partnership announcement, Google’s parent Alphabet reached a $4 trillion valuation for the first time, surpassing Apple to become the second-most valuable company in the world. The win is similar to what Google got with its Search in that Gemini becomes, in the mind of the consumer, a de facto option as an AI model, Morningstar analyst William Kerwin told The Verge. “This will give them a ton more users from the iPhone user base and also really cement that brand image as a go-to AI model that supports all these features,” he said.
l What the deal means for OpenAI
APPLE HAD SIGNED a similar pact with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI in June 2024, which made the popular chatbot available as part of its suite of generative AI tools, Apple Intelligence. Since the partnership with Google is not exclusive, Apple is likely to continue to rely on OpenAI’s models for some of its Apple Intelligence features. However, it does signal that OpenAI’s ChatGPT need not be the top choice when it comes to LLMs for mobile devices. While Gemini already riding on Android phones, and iPhones now set to host Gemini-powered Siri, OpenAI may not find it easy to grow its user base, though it still has the highest number of users. OpenAI has been working on developing a new kind of AI device slotted for launch as early as this year. That device was supposed to rival the phone as the primary way consumers interface with AI assistants. That hope may weaken with OpenAI unlikely to have much insight into Apple’s AI capabilities after this deal.
l Does it raise anti-trust concerns?
THE PARTNERSHIP IS in line with their previous pacts. While neither Apple nor Google confirmed the price tag, the non-exclusive deal is expected to be worth around $1 billion annually. More importantly, for Google, it opens the door to the approximately 1.5 billion iPhone users worldwide. According to Fortune, it may even lead to Google getting a share of any revenue iPhone users generate for Apple through product discovery and purchases made through a Gemini-powered Siri.
Whether this deal will attract the scrutiny of anti-trust regulators is anybody’s guess, but the partnership comes at a time when Google has been battling multiple anti-trust lawsuits.
The two tech giants have had a long-time deal that involved Apple products featuring Google as the default search engine on its devices and between 2021 and 2022, Google had paid more than $26 billion to firms including Apple to make its search engine the default
option on iPhones.
