It now looks as though things may change, with Apple reportedly set to embark on a billion-dollar partnership with Google to integrate the Gemini model into Siri. Recent reports about Apple Uses Google Gemini, which I have no reason to doubt, said that Apple will pay Google close to $1 billion annually to license its advanced Gemini model—a large-scale AI system that will revolutionize what Siri is capable of. This would be a major strategic shift for Apple, which has historically kept very tight control over its hardware and software ecosystems.
Apple and Google’s Billion-Dollar Deal
Apple’s deal with Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, pertains to licensing access to Gemini, Google’s flagship generative AI model. The model, operating on up to 1.2–1.5 trillion parameters, is among the most powerful AI systems in the world. A customized version of Gemini is scheduled to be deployed within Siri and other Apple Intelligence features across iPhones, iPads, and Macs, according to sources.
Interestingly, this isn’t about integrating Google’s search or data systems into Apple’s ecosystem. In its place, Apple intends to use Gemini strictly for AI-driven conversational and reasoning capabilities, keeping user privacy at the forefront. This Gemini-powered Siri is expected to roll out at around spring 2026, probably along with the next major iOS update.
Why Apple Turned to Google
Apple’s reliance on Google’s Gemini model underlines how much the company needs to catch up in the race for AI. Whereas competitors like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google have been making rapid advances in generative AI, Apple has made relatively little noise. Its existing Siri assistant, after many years of updates, still struggles with complex requests, contextual understanding, and multi-step reasoning: precisely what big language models, such as Gemini, are good at.
With Gemini, Apple gets a temporary workaround while still working on its own proprietary system, internally called the Apple Foundation Model, or AFM. According to various reports, the internal AI models of Apple are not ready to perform at the scale needed for mass deployment. Hence, licensing Gemini allows Apple to introduce new experiences based on AI with more flexibility for users earlier, without compromising performance or privacy.
How Apple plans to keep things private
The technology is from Google, and yet Apple is determined to make sure that its privacy-first principles hold. The Gemini model reportedly would run within Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, in a secure environment controlled by Apple, where user data remains encrypted and unreachable by third parties. In other words, Google will provide the core capabilities of the model but will not know how it is being used by Apple.
Internally, Apple reportedly refers to the Gemini-based model as “AFM v10,” without mentioning the involvement of Google. This is another strategic branding move that allows Apple to incorporate state-of-the-art AI while retaining its image as an independent innovator.
Financial and Strategic Implications
The deal’s estimated $1 billion annual payment might sound steep, but it is a fraction of the wider financial relationship between the two tech giants. Already, Google pays Apple roughly $20 billion per year to be the default search engine for Safari. But in this new deal, the dynamic flips: Apple will now pay Google. This is a harbinger of how the two companies work with each other differently in a world where AI has changed the game.
For Google, the partnership further cements Gemini’s status as a commercially viable enterprise-level AI solution and deepens its influence in the Apple ecosystem. For Apple, it is a strategic investment: buying time to refine in-house AI while keeping competitive devices that can go head-to-head against Android and Windows-powered units with their sophisticated assistants.
The Bigger Picture: AI Rivalries and Future Outlook
This deal is part of an ongoing trend across the industry: even the largest players have started thinking of collaboration instead of competition. That Apple chose to use Google’s Gemini seems pragmatic—perhaps an indication that keeping performance and user experience a priority comes before brand isolation.
Yet, the move also raises questions. Will Apple become reliant on Google over time for AI innovation? Or is this just a temporary relationship to get the ball rolling, so to say, until Apple’s own AI foundation model emerges as the leader within a few years? According to industry analysts, the latter is what they believe—the deal buys the time for Apple to bolster its internal AI teams and infrastructure.
When Siri 2.0 launches, users can expect a smarter, more conversational, and context-aware assistant able to process multi-step tasks and offer more natural responses. Paired with Apple’s strong privacy safeguards, this could help reposition Siri as a true competitor to Google Assistant and ChatGPT-based systems.
Conclusion
Apple’s reported $1 billion-a-year deal with Google marks one of the largest partnerships in the AI era. Surprising to some, seeing as how the two companies are rivals, it shows how AI innovation has rewritten the rules of tech. Merging Google’s Gemini intelligence with Apple hardware and the privacy ecosystem takes Siri to its biggest transformation yet. Whether this is a long-term alliance or a short-term strategy, there is one thing that’s crystal clear: the future of AI assistants just got a lot more competitive.
