Apple to Reveal Google-Powered Siri Overhaul in February

Apple is preparing to announce a new version of Siri in the second half of February that will use Google's Gemini artificial intelligence technology, marking a significant turning point in the company's efforts to catch up in the AI race.

The announcement comes as Apple looks to finally deliver on promises it made about upgrading Siri at its developer conference last June. The new assistant will demonstrate the results of a partnership between Apple and Google announced in January, which gives Apple access to Gemini's underlying technology and cloud infrastructure.

According to reports from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the February reveal will be a preview of what's coming. The full version of the redesigned Siri will arrive later in the year at Apple's annual developer conference in June, with the complete rollout expected in the fall.

Background

Apple has been working to overhaul Siri for more than a year. The company first announced plans for a major upgrade to the assistant at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2024, but the rollout has been delayed as Apple rebuilt the underlying technology needed to support more advanced AI capabilities.

The company's internal AI efforts have faced setbacks. Apple was developing its own "World Knowledge Answers" project to compete with ChatGPT and other AI chatbots, but that work has been scaled back. The company also paused work on a major redesign of its Safari browser that was meant to compete with AI-powered search tools.

These struggles led to significant leadership changes. John Giannandrea, Apple's senior vice president of machine learning and AI strategy, departed from the company. His exit appears to have prompted a strategic shift toward partnering with Google rather than building everything in-house.

"After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google's AI technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the new new experiences it will unlock for Apple users."

Key Details

The February Announcement

The February reveal will introduce what Apple is calling "LLM Siri," a version of the assistant that runs on large language models. This update will arrive in iOS 26.4, which is expected to enter beta testing in February with a public release in March or April.

This version of Siri will be able to access users' personal data and information visible on their screen to complete tasks. The assistant will work with Google's Gemini technology running on Google's cloud servers, since Apple says it doesn't currently have the infrastructure to handle billions of daily requests from its devices.

The Summer Rollout

The bigger update comes in June at Apple's developer conference. There, Apple plans to show off a full Siri chatbot that will function more like ChatGPT, with conversational abilities and the capacity to handle complex requests.

This chatbot version will use a custom AI model developed by the Google Gemini team that is comparable to Gemini 3 in capability, according to reports. It will be significantly more powerful than the February version and will also run on Google's servers.

Apple plans to deeply integrate this new Siri across its core apps including Safari, TV, Health, Music, and Podcasts, rather than creating separate chatbot experiences in each application. The complete rollout of these features is expected with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 in the fall.

What This Means

The partnership with Google represents a major admission from Apple that it cannot keep pace with the rapid advancement of AI technology on its own. For years, Apple has emphasized its ability to handle AI processing on users' devices without relying on cloud servers, citing privacy concerns. Now the company is betting that access to Google's proven technology is worth the trade-off.

For users, the changes mean Siri will finally gain capabilities that Apple promised more than a year ago. The assistant will be able to understand context, access personal information, and complete more complex tasks. It will also become more conversational, similar to the AI chatbots that have become popular over the past two years.

The partnership also affects Apple's broader AI strategy. Projects that were once considered priorities have been shelved or scaled back. The Safari redesign, the World Knowledge Answers project, and work on AI health features have all been paused or returned to the drawing board.

Apple has committed to a multi-year partnership with Google, meaning Gemini will power Apple's AI features for years to come. The company says Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and use Apple's Private Cloud Compute infrastructure while maintaining its privacy standards, though some processing will now happen on Google's servers.

The February announcement will give developers and users a first look at how this partnership will reshape Apple's approach to artificial intelligence.