In what might be one of the most surprising shifts in Silicon Valley’s power balance, Apple is reportedly finalising a deal to pay Google about $1 billion per year to power Siri with a new, ultra-capable AI brain based on Google’s Gemini technology.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, this partnership marks Apple’s boldest move yet in its long-delayed attempt to bring Siri up to speed in the age of large language models. The deal underscores a quiet admission that Apple’s own artificial intelligence simply is not ready to compete, at least not yet.

Why Siri Needs Google

For years, Siri has lagged behind rivals like ChatGPT and Google Assistant. Apple’s “Apple Intelligence” rollout earlier this year was a step forward, but its in-house model, with around 150 billion parameters, still could not handle the kind of complex reasoning and multi-step planning that defines today’s top AI tools.

By contrast, the version of Gemini Apple will use has 1.2 trillion parameters, putting it on par with the most advanced models in existence. In simple terms, that means it can understand more nuance, context, and intent in human speech and respond more intelligently. This “monster model” will serve as the foundation for Siri’s new summarizer and planner functions, the components that figure out what you are asking and how best to execute it.

Apple reportedly evaluated other leading systems earlier this year, including Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, before settling on Google. The result is a customised Gemini model built specifically for Siri’s ecosystem.

This Partnership is NOT a Marriage, Just a Lease

While the partnership sounds monumental, insiders describe it as a temporary arrangement, a stopgap while Apple’s internal AI teams work to close the gap. Engineers in Cupertino are already developing a 1 trillion-parameter model of their own, expected to debut as early as 2026.

It is a familiar playbook for Apple. The company relied on partners, learned from the experience, and then replaced them. Apple did it with Google Maps, Intel chips, and weather data providers before eventually building its own versions.

For now, Apple is content to rent some brainpower. The Gemini-backed Siri is expected to roll out in spring 2026, most likely as part of the iOS 26.4 release cycle, typically landing around March.

Privacy First, Even When Borrowing Brains

Apple is still Apple, which means privacy remains at the core of the partnership. Despite leaning on Google’s AI, Gemini will run entirely on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers. That ensures all processing happens within Apple’s infrastructure. No user data ever leaves the company’s control, and Google does not get access to personal queries or logs.

The arrangement is also tailored for different markets. In China, where most Google services are banned, Apple plans to use its in-house language models with a custom filter system to comply with local content regulations.

The AI Race Heats Up

Apple’s deal with Google reveals the growing urgency inside the company. For years, Apple has preferred to move cautiously, prioritising user trust over speed. But with AI rapidly reshaping how people interact with technology, that strategy now carries a cost. Competitors like OpenAI and Google have set new expectations for what digital assistants can do, from generating emails and managing schedules to understanding emotional context and performing creative tasks.

For Apple, Gemini is both an acknowledgement of that gap and an attempt to bridge it fast.

What Comes Next

When the new Siri debuts next year, users can expect a noticeably smarter assistant. It will be able to summarise notifications, plan multi-step actions like sending messages and rescheduling meetings, and engage in more natural conversations.

Apple’s endgame remains independence. If the company’s own trillion-parameter model launches as planned, the Gemini era could be short-lived, a strategic detour on the road to Apple’s AI self-sufficiency.

Still, the optics are hard to ignore. Apple paying Google to make Siri think is a bold move for a company that has built its identity on doing everything in-house. It may be the most un-Apple move the company has made in a decade and possibly the smartest.

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