Overview
- Apple and Google are finalizing an agreement, according to Bloomberg, for Apple to license a customized Gemini to overhaul Siri, with a launch targeted for spring 2026 in iOS 26.4.
- The deal is reportedly worth about $1 billion annually and would position Google as a behind‑the‑scenes supplier rather than a publicly promoted partner.
- Gemini would handle Siri’s planner and summarizer functions, while other features continue using Apple’s models, with all processing on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute to keep data from Google.
- Apple chose Google after evaluating models from Anthropic and OpenAI, with price cited as a key factor; Apple and Google spokespeople declined to comment.
- Led internally by Mike Rockwell and Craig Federighi under the codenames Glenwood (partnership) and Linwood (assistant), the arrangement is described as temporary as Apple develops a roughly 1‑trillion‑parameter cloud model and readies China‑specific implementations where Google is restricted.