Human
CUPERTINO, CA: Apple and Google announced a multi-year partnership on Monday that will see Google's Gemini artificial intelligence technology power Apple's next generation of AI features, including a significantly upgraded Siri voice assistant due later this year.
Under the deal, Gemini models and Google cloud infrastructure will form the foundation of Apple's future "Apple Intelligence" features, the companies said in a joint statement. While Apple's current AI systems run on its own devices and private cloud, Gemini is expected to provide more advanced capabilities for understanding complex queries and personal context.
"After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google's AI technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users," the companies said in a joint statement.
The pact marks a notable shift for Apple, which had faced delays rolling out promised generative AI functionality and had previously integrated services like OpenAI's ChatGPT for certain Siri tasks. The new collaboration comes as Apple seeks to accelerate its AI roadmap amid intense competition from rivals such as OpenAI and Google itself.
Apple did not disclose financial terms, but earlier reports suggested it could pay Google around $1 billion annually for access to custom Gemini models, which would operate on Apple's secure servers to preserve user privacy.
The agreement also deepens a longstanding commercial relationship between the companies, with Google already paying Apple billions to remain the default search engine on iPhones. Tech analysts view the move as a major endorsement of Google's AI leadership, even as Apple maintains control over on-device processing and privacy protections.
