Apple will reportedly need Google’s help to roll out its widely anticipated, AI-revamped version of Siri.
The iPhone-maker’s personal voice assistant will apparently “lean” on Google’s Gemini AI model, and is rumoured to come with an AI-powered web search feature that will be powered by the Gemini model, according to the latest edition of the “Power On” newsletter by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The revamped version of Siri is expected to be rolled out in March 2026. However, “there’s no guarantee users will embrace it, that it will work seamlessly or that it can undo years of damage to the Siri brand,” Gurman wrote.
As part of the deal with Apple, Google is said to be developing a custom Gemini-based model that can run on the former’s Private Cloud Compute servers to power Siri. But this does not mean that Siri will include Google services or Gemini features. It just means that the custom Gemini model will run in the background, powering various AI features that users can access via Siri.
At WWDC 2024, Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence – a suite of AI features – and announced a revamped Siri powered by ChatGPT. However, the rollout has been sluggish, the features are limited, and the promised Siri revamp was delayed to 2026.
This has only widened the gap between Apple and its “Magnificent Seven” peers, the world’s top seven tech companies. Once the most valuable tech company in the world, Apple now sits in second place behind Nvidia. During the company’s recent earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said they are “making good progress” on AI-revamped Siri and that they are “open to pursuing M&A if we think that it will advance our roadmap.”
Besides Siri, Gurman revealed that Apple could soon launch a new smart home display product with speaker-base and wall-mount options. The Apple TV and HomePod mini will also reportedly “help showcase” next year’s new Siri and Apple Intelligence features.
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The company is expected to preview iOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27 and other operating systems at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2026, where the focus will mostly be on major updates to Apple Intelligence as part of its broader AI strategy.
To be sure, Apple has already embedded OpenAI’s ChatGPT into Siri even as rumours swirl about potential partnerships to integrate AI tools developed by Perplexity and Anthropic as well. While the rollout of Apple Intelligence has been underwhelming, these features are yet to be launched in China owing to regulatory issues.
It has partnered with Alibaba to adopt the Chinese tech giant’s Baidu AI models into iPhones. But this integration is also said to be facing hurdles owing to issues such as the model’s understanding of prompts and accuracy in responding to common scenarios, according to a 2024 Reuters report.