In a new report about Apple losing at least four more AI researchers in recent weeks, in addition to a high-ranking Siri executive, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that the company is preparing to release two new versions of Siri.


First, Apple announced that it plans to release a more personalized version of Siri powered by Google Gemini this year. It is expected to be part of iOS 26.4, which should enter beta testing in February and be released to the general public in March or April.

Back in June 2024, Apple said the revamped Siri will have understanding of personal context, on-screen awareness, deeper in-app controls, and more.

Second, Siri will reportedly get even better on iOS 27, as Apple is said to be planning to turn the assistant into a full-out chatbot, allowing users to have sustained, back-and-forth conversations with the assistant. This will essentially turn Siri into ChatGPT or Gemini, except it will be built right into the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with no app required.

Gurman said the Siri chatbot will be "competitive with Gemini 3," and "significantly more capable" than the more personalized Siri coming with iOS 26.4.

The high-ranking Siri executive who left Apple was Stuart Bowers, according to the report, which described him as "one of the company's most senior executives working on Siri." He joined Google's artificial intelligence research laboratory DeepMind.
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In a recent interview with the tech podcast TBPN, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman revealed that Apple was initially "going to rebuild Siri around Claude," the large language model and chatbot developed by the company Anthropic. In the end, though, Apple announced that it had decided to use Google's Gemini platform instead.


According to Gurman, Apple went with Google due at least in part to money.

"Anthropic was holding them over a barrel," said Gurman, in a podcast clip shared by TBPN. "They wanted a ton of money from them, several billion dollars a year, and at a price that doubled on an annual basis for the next three years."

Nevertheless, Gurman said Apple currently "runs on Anthropic" internally.

"Anthropic is powering a lot of the stuff Apple's doing internally in terms of product development and a lot of their internal tools," he explained. "They have custom versions of Claude running on their own servers internally, too."

Apple was "not going to use Google" for the revamped Siri until "a few months ago," he said.

Apple announced that it plans to release a more personalized version of Siri powered by Google Gemini this year. It is expected to be part of iOS 26.4, which should enter beta testing in February and be released to the general public in March or April. The new-and-improved Siri likely requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer.

Back in June 2024, Apple said the revamped Siri will have understanding of personal context, on-screen awareness, deeper in-app controls, and more. At the time, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info retrieved from the Mail and Messages apps.


This article, "New Siri: Apple Almost Chose a Different Partner Before Google Gemini" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Following a January that saw Apple release a new AirTag and the Creator Studio bundle of creative apps, it is now time to shift our attention to February.


Below, we have outlined some key items to expect from Apple in February. Of course, these are only the things that are known, so stay tuned for even more.

iOS 26.3

iOS 26.3 remains in beta testing, but the update should be released soon. We expect the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate to be seeded as early as next week, and the update should be released to the general public in the first half of February.

iOS 26.3 is a relatively minor update, with only a handful of notable new features, including a new iOS-to-Android transfer tool, notification forwarding and AirPods-like proximity pairing for third-party accessories like smartwatches, and a carrier-related limit precise location setting. Apple also appears to be laying the groundwork for carriers to begin supporting end-to-end encryption for RCS messaging, which it has promised to implement.

Personalized Siri (Beta)

Apple plans to announce a more personalized version of Siri powered by Google Gemini in the second half of February, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

The more personalized Siri will be part of iOS 26.4, which will be available in beta in February and released to the general public in March or early April, according to Gurman. Based on that timeframe, the new-and-improved Siri should be available to all customers with an iPhone 15 Pro or newer in just a few more months.

As previewed by Apple, the assistant "should be able to tap into personal data and on-screen content to fulfill tasks," according to Gurman.

Apple first announced the more personalized version of Siri all the way back at WWDC 2024, but it was eventually delayed. At the time, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info retrieved from the Mail and Messages apps, as one example of a new capability.

The revamped Siri reportedly experienced issues inside Apple, leading the company to turn to Google Gemini. As part of the partnership, the revamped Siri will still run on a new Apple Intelligence model that has Gemini's technology baked in.

Other Known Dates

• Thursday, February 5: Another four games are coming to Apple Arcade, including Retrocade, an app that lets you play classic arcade games like Asteroids, PAC-MAN, Breakout, Galaga, and Space Invaders. One of the other additions will be an arcade version of the popular PC game Sid Meier's Civilization VII.


• Friday, February 6: Apple will accept submissions for the 2026 Swift Student Challenge from Friday, February 6 through Saturday, February 28. Some of the winners will be invited to spend three days at Apple Park during WWDC 2026 in June.


• Sunday, February 8: Apple Music is the official sponsor of the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, set to be held on Sunday, February 8. This year's performer is Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny.


• Tuesday, February 10: A few years ago, Apple's Home app was rearchitected, and the company will be ending support for the original architecture on this day. If you do not update, Apple warns you might experience issues.


• Tuesday, February 24: Apple will be holding its annual shareholders meeting at 8 a.m. Pacific Time, and it will once again be held virtually. Apple shareholders of record as of January 2, 2026 can vote to re-elect the company's board of directors, ask questions, and more. Apple rarely answers any questions about future plans, so the meetings are often unremarkable from a news perspective.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday reiterated the structure of its partnership with Google to use Gemini AI models for the next generation version of Siri.


During the company's Q1 2026 earnings call yesterday, Apple CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ and CFO Kevan Parekh were asked several questions about Apple Intelligence and the company's recently announced deal with Google to power the personalized version of ‌Siri‌ using Gemini.

We basically determined that Google's AI technology would provide the most capable foundation for AFM (Apple Foundation Models), and we believe that we can unlock a lot of experiences and innovate in a key way due to the collaboration. We'll continue to run on the device and run in Private Cloud Compute and maintain our industry-leading privacy standards in doing so. In terms of the arrangement with Google, we're not releasing the details of that.

That description closely matches language from Apple and Google's earlier joint announcement, which said that ‌Apple Intelligence‌ would continue to operate on Apple hardware and Private Cloud Compute.

Cook also addressed Apple's own artificial intelligence development efforts, noting that the company continues to build its own technology alongside the Gemini partnership, but clarified that those efforts do not replace Google's role in the personalized ‌Siri‌ system.

You should think of it as a collaboration. And we'll obviously independently continue to do some of our own stuff, but you should think of what is going to power the personalized version of Siri as a collaboration with Google.

When asked about monetization and return on investment, Cook framed ‌Apple Intelligence‌ as a feature integrated across Apple's platforms rather than a discrete revenue driver.

We're bringing intelligence to more of what people love and we're integrating it across the operating system in a personal and private way, and I think that by doing so, it creates great value, and that opens up a range of opportunities across our products and services. And we're very happy with the collaboration with Google as well, I should add.

Neither Cook nor Parekh disclosed how many users currently have access to ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features or whether those capabilities are driving hardware upgrades. Apple previously acknowledged that ‌Apple Intelligence‌ is limited to devices with sufficient memory and processing capacity, which constrains availability somewhat.
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Apple plans to unveil a more personalized version of Siri powered by Google Gemini next month, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.


"The company has been planning an announcement of the new Siri in the second half of February, when it will give demonstrations of the functionality," he wrote, in the latest edition of his weekly Power On newsletter today.

Gurman does not yet know if Apple plans to hold a full-out event to demonstrate the Siri upgrades, or if it will hold private briefings with the media.

The more personalized Siri will be part of iOS 26.4, which will be available in beta in February and released to the general public in March or early April, according to Gurman. Based on that timeframe, the new-and-improved Siri should be available to all customers with an iPhone 15 Pro or newer in just a few more months.

As previewed by Apple, the assistant "should be able to tap into personal data and on-screen content to fulfill tasks," according to Gurman.

Apple first announced the more personalized version of Siri all the way back at WWDC 2024, but it was eventually delayed. At the time, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info retrieved from the Mail and Messages apps, as one example of a new capability.

The revamped Siri reportedly experienced issues inside Apple, leading the company to turn to Google Gemini. The revamped Siri will technically still run on a new Apple Intelligence model that has Gemini's technology baked in.

Siri will reportedly get even better on iOS 27, as Apple is said to be planning to turn the assistant into a full-out chatbot, allowing users to have sustained, back-and-forth conversations with the assistant. This will essentially turn Siri into ChatGPT or Gemini, except it will be built right into the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with no app required.

Gurman said the Siri chatbot will be "competitive with Gemini 3," and "significantly more capable" than the more personalized Siri coming with iOS 26.4.

Siri's chatbot might run directly on Google's servers.


This article, "Here's When Apple Plans to Unveil a New Siri Powered by Google Gemini" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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The smarter, more capable version of Siri that Apple is developing will be powered by Google Gemini, reports Bloomberg. Apple will pay Google approximately $1 billion per year for a 1.2 trillion parameter artificial intelligence model that was developed by Google.


For context, parameters are a measure of how a model understands and responds to queries. More parameters generally means more capable, though training and architecture are also factors. Bloomberg says that Google's model "dwarfs" the parameter level of Apple's current models.

The current cloud-based version of Apple Intelligence uses 150 billion parameters, but there are no specific metrics detailing how the other models Apple is developing measure up.

Apple will use Gemini for functions related to summarizing and multi-step task planning and execution, but Apple models will also be used for some ‌Siri‌ features. The AI model that Google is developing for Apple will run on Apple's Private Cloud Compute servers, so Google will not have access to Apple data.

Gemini uses a Mixture-of-Experts architecture, so while it has over a trillion total parameters, only a fraction of them are activated for each query. The architecture allows for a large total compute capacity without racking up significant processing costs.

Apple weighed using its own AI models for the LLM version of ‌Siri‌, and also tested options from OpenAI and Anthropic, but it decided to go with Gemini after deciding Anthropic's fees were too high. Apple already has a partnership with Google for search results, with Google paying Apple around $20 billion per year to be the default search engine option on Apple devices.

Though Apple is planning to rely on Google AI for now, it plans to continue working on its own models and will transition to an in-house solution when its LLMs are capable enough. Apple is already working on a 1 trillion parameter cloud-based model that could be ready as soon as 2026. Apple is unlikely to publicize its arrangement with Google while it develops in-house models.

Apple was meant to debut an updated version of ‌Siri‌ in iOS 18, but deficiencies required the company to overhaul the underlying ‌Siri‌ architecture and significantly delay the rollout. The smarter ‌Apple Intelligence‌ ‌Siri‌ is expected to be introduced in an iOS 26.4 update that's coming in spring 2026.

‌Siri‌ will be able to answer more complex queries and complete more complicated tasks in and between apps. It will be closer in function to Claude and ChatGPT, though Apple is not planning a dedicated chatbot app.
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In his "Power On" newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today provided an update on the status of Apple Intelligence and the plans for it in 2026.


Apple is still planning to roll out its revamped version of Siri around March of next year. The release should be accompanied by the release of a new smart home display product with speaker-base and wall-mount options. A new Apple TV and HomePod mini, which are set for launch soon, will also "help showcase" next year's new ‌Siri‌ and ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features.

The new version of ‌Siri‌ will apparently "lean" on Google's Gemini and include an AI-powered web search feature. Gurman warned "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."

Apple is said to be paying Google to create a custom Gemini-based model that can run on its Private Cloud Compute servers to power ‌Siri‌. Gurman clarified that this doesn't mean ‌Siri‌ will include Google services or Gemini features. Instead, ‌Siri‌ will simply be powered by a Gemini model in the background, enabling it to deliver the features that users expect with an Apple user interface.

Apple will preview iOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27 and other operating systems at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The updates will apparently focus on major updates to ‌Apple Intelligence‌ and the company's broader AI strategy.

The company is also apparently still running into problems with the launch of ‌Apple Intelligence‌ in China. Despite partnerships with Chinese companies, ‌Apple Intelligence‌ in China is still mired by regulatory issues and the launch is now a "rolling target."


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Apple CEO Tim Cook today said that a more personalized version of Siri remains on track to launch at some point next year, with the new set of features expected to debut on the iPhone as part of iOS 26.4 in March or April.


"We're also excited for a more personalized Siri," said Cook, on Apple's earnings call for the third quarter of the 2025 calendar year. "We're making good progress on it, and as we've shared, we expect to release it next year."

Apple first announced the personalized Siri features during its WWDC 2024 keynote, but in March it announced that they were delayed. The new capabilities will include better understanding of a user's personal context, on-screen awareness, and deeper per-app controls. For example, Apple showed an iPhone user asking Siri about their mother's flight and lunch reservation plans based on info from the Mail and Messages apps.

Apple is facing multiple class action lawsuits over the delayed features.
This article, "Apple CEO Tim Cook Says Revamped Siri on Track to Launch Next Year" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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