After months of will-they-won’t-they speculation, Apple finally chose its AI partner. And the winner? Google.
Starting sometime in 2026, Siri will get a major upgrade powered by Google’s Gemini AI models. This isn’t just a minor tweak. We’re talking about a complete overhaul that could finally make Siri actually useful.
But here’s the thing. Until recently, Apple was working with OpenAI. So what changed?
Why Google won
Apple’s statement said that “after careful consideration” they determined Google’s AI provides “the most capable foundation” for their needs. My translation: Gemini is now better than ChatGPT.
If this is indeed true, then that’s a pretty big deal. Remember, just two years ago when ChatGPT launched, everyone thought Google was finished. The search giant looked like it was scrambling to catch up, launching products that recommended glue on pizza and generated historically inaccurate images.
But Google clearly got its act together. Today’s Gemini models are among the most capable in the market. And now Apple, known for its incredibly high standards, has validated that.
There’s another angle too. Apple is obsessive about privacy. They don’t let partners train on user data. Google, with its own cloud infrastructure and complete ecosystem control, can probably offer privacy guarantees that smaller players like OpenAI or Anthropic simply can’t match.
What’s in it for Google?
Money, for starters. Bloomberg previously reported Apple was paying around $1 billion annually for AI technology. Not pocket change, even for Google.
And investors loved it. The announcement sent Google’s market cap soaring above $4 trillion, joining an elite club of the world’s most valuable companies.
But the real prize? Distribution. Apple has roughly 1.5 billion iPhone users worldwide (the active Apple devices number is even higher). That’s 1.5 billion people who will now be using Google’s AI technology every time they talk to Siri. If even a fraction of those users generate revenue through product discovery or purchases via the new Siri, Google’s getting a cut.
Think of it like Google’s search deal with Apple, which reportedly nets Google up to $20 billion per year. This could become the AI equivalent.
What about Apple?
For Apple, this is both good and bad news.
Good because they finally get to ship a capable AI assistant without waiting for their own models to be ready. After a year of embarrassing delays, missed deadlines, and even a class action lawsuit over AI features that never materialized, they desperately needed this win.
Bad because it highlights a troubling reality. Apple, the company famous for controlling every aspect of its products, still can’t build a competitive AI model on its own. They’ve now partnered with OpenAI, then Google, all while promising their own models were coming soon.
CEO Tim Cook has already shaken things up, bringing in a new AI chief who previously worked on Gemini at Google. But 2026 is make-or-break time. If Apple can’t deliver its own models soon, its reputation as a tech innovator takes another hit.
And OpenAI?
This is terrible news for OpenAI. They just lost prime position access to 1.5 billion iPhone users. CEO Sam Altman recently said he sees Apple as OpenAI’s primary long-term rival. Now that rival just partnered with his biggest competitor. Please note that the joint press release by Apple and Google was silent on the existing agreement Apple has with OpenAI.
OpenAI is betting big on a new AI hardware device designed with Jony Ive (Apple’s former star designer). But without insight into Apple’s AI strategy, positioning that device as an “iPhone killer” just got a lot harder.
The bottom line? Google’s back on top, Apple’s buying time, and OpenAI’s scrambling for Plan B.
Sonia Boolchandani is a seasoned financial writer She has written for prominent firms like Vested Finance, and Finology, where she has crafted content that simplifies complex financial concepts for diverse audiences.
Disclosure: The writer and her his dependents do not hold the stocks discussed in this article.
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