Earlier this week, we reported that Apple was tapping Google to power Siri with Gemini, now we have even more details. According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple is planning to pay Alphabet (Google’s parent company) $1 billion per year to get access to an ultrapowerful 1.2 trillion parameter AI model that will power the Siri voice assistant.
Google’s Gemini model will be used by Apple to handle Siri’s summarizer and planner functions specifically. The planner functions can synthesize information and execute complex tasks. Apple plans to treat Google as a behind-the-scenes technology supplier, meaning its iPhone users will never know that Apple is depending on the maker of Android to power its AI.
The 1.2 trillion parameter custom Gemini system is a big advance from the 150 billion parameter model that’s currently used for the cloud-based Apple Intelligence. Bloomberg also mentioned that the Google model will run on Apple’s own Private Cloud Compute servers, which means it’ll be separate from Google’s infrastructure.
The new voice assistant that is planned for iOS 26.4 is apparently code-named Linwood and the effort to fix Siri with a third-party model is known internally as Glenwood. The new Siri is expected to be released next spring and using Gemini to power it is only an interim solution, with Apple admitting it has fallen behind in AI.
Apple is reportedly working on its own 1 trillion parameter cloud-based model that it hopes to have ready for consumer applications as early as next year and it could replace Gemini. Notably, the Gemini-powered Siri is unlikely to be available in China due to the country’s ban on Google offerings.
In China, Apple is expected to use in-house models along with a filter developed by Alibaba. Apple has also been looking at a partnership with Baidu for its AI offerings in China.
Source: Bloomberg