Apple Ditches In-House AI for Google's Gemini in Siri Update

Apple has quietly shifted its Siri virtual assistant from an in-house AI to Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro model, which is reportedly worth around $1 billion a year to the tech giant.

The change was slipped into the iOS 27 update released on September 14, 2026, with Apple opting to use Google's more advanced AI instead of developing its own. This reversal comes after years of emphasizing privacy as a key feature for Apple devices.

To mask this shift, Apple has implemented a custom version of Gemini that strips identifying information from user queries before sending them to Google's servers. This ensures that Google doesn't learn who is making the requests or see their sensitive data.

The updated Siri can now engage in conversations up to 20 turns deep without losing context and can even translate conversations live during phone calls, FaceTime sessions, or messages. However, this advanced AI is not available for iPhone users within the European Union due to regulatory disputes over access to private user data.