According to the latest report by Bloomberg technology journalist Mark Gurman, Apple is in talks with Google to collaborate, planning to introduce AI technology powered by Google's Gemini in the next generation of Siri. Faced with a situation where it is considered "behind" in the artificial intelligence race, Apple may accelerate its voice assistant's intelligent transformation by teaming up with its long-time rival.
Gurman revealed that Apple and Google have reached a formal agreement this week, allowing Apple to test Gemini's AI models in Siri. If the tests are successful, this technology may not be limited to Siri in the future, but could also extend to core features such as the Safari browser and Spotlight search on the home screen.
Siri Upgrade Delayed Until 2026, Apple Seeks "External Help"
It is reported that the comprehensive AI upgrade for Siri was originally planned to be released with iOS 18, but has now been postponed until 2026. Apple is still evaluating whether its internal large language model can reach the level of AI question-answering engines provided by OpenAI, Google's Gemini, and emerging search company Perplexity.
Rather than waiting for its self-developed model to mature, Apple turning to Google for technical support shows a pragmatic shift in its AI strategy. Although the two companies have long competed in the mobile search market, facing the comprehensive transformation of AI search experience, Apple seems more willing to "take a different path."
AI Search Revolution: Spotlight and Siri Integrate for Major Upgrades
In Apple's long-term strategy, the Spotlight search function has continuously improved, aiming to allow users to bypass web searches and directly get answers about actors, music, movies, etc. In the future, Siri combined with Gemini may provide richer content presentations, such as text, images, videos, local point of interest recommendations, and personalized summaries based on user data.
More importantly, with advanced natural language understanding capabilities, the upgraded Siri is expected to achieve smoother voice interaction experiences, allowing users to truly "control devices by speaking."
If implemented, this move could not only completely reshape the user experience of Siri, but could also have a profound impact on Google's own search ecosystem: Apple device users obtaining answers through Siri or Spotlight may bypass traditional web search entry points, directly accessing accurate information summarized by AI locally or in the cloud.
As Apple's attitude towards AI technology shifts toward being more open and practical, the future of Siri may be at a turning point.
