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Apple has officially confirmed that Google will play a central role in its long-promised Siri transformation, ending months of speculation about how the company plans to modernize its voice assistant for the AI era.
In a statement shared with CNBC, Apple said it will use Google's Gemini artificial intelligence model as the foundation for the upcoming, more personalized version of Siri. According to Apple, Gemini offered the strongest technical base after extensive internal evaluation.
"After careful evaluation, we determined that Google's technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models," the company said, adding that the partnership will unlock new experiences for users.
Apple did not disclose financial terms or a precise rollout date, but the agreement is believed to be part of a multi-year deal between the two companies. Earlier reports had suggested Apple was weighing alternatives from OpenAI and Anthropic before settling on Google.
The confirmation comes nearly a year after Apple delayed the AI-powered Siri it first previewed at WWDC 2024. At the time, Apple acknowledged that development was taking longer than expected, fueling doubts among some users that the promised upgrade would arrive anytime soon.
According to people familiar with the project, the revamped Siri is expected to debut with iOS 26.4, likely launching in March. The update is designed to make Siri significantly more context-aware, allowing it to understand what is currently displayed on an iPhone screen, search across personal data with user permission, and carry out multi-step tasks that previously required manual input.
Apple's decision could also have competitive implications. The timing of Siri's release may place it directly against new Galaxy AI features Samsung is expected to unveil alongside One UI 8.5 and the Galaxy S26 lineup.
Google's AI progress appears to have influenced Apple's choice. The launch of Gemini 3 last year positioned Google as a leader in large language models, an area where Apple has historically lagged despite its strengths in hardware and ecosystem integration.
While Apple remains cautious about overpromising, the partnership signals a strategic shift toward collaboration rather than building everything in-house. Whether the new Siri lives up to expectations will depend on how seamlessly Apple blends Gemini's capabilities with its own privacy standards and user experience.
For now, Apple has made one thing clear: Siri's long-awaited comeback will not be a solo effort.
