Apple Explores Using Google Gemini AI To Power Revamped Siri

Apple is in early discussions about using Google Gemini to power a revamped version of the Siri voice assistant, marking a key potential step toward outsourcing more of its artificial intelligence technology. From a report: The iPhone maker recently approached Alphabet's Google to explore building a custom AI model that would serve as the foundation of the new Siri next year, according to people familiar with he matter. Google has started training a model that could run on Apple's servers, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

The work is part of an effort to catch up in generative AI, a field where the company arrived late and then struggled to gain traction. Earlier this year, Apple also explored partnerships with Anthropic and OpenAI, weighing whether Claude or ChatGPT could serve as Siri's new brain. Apple is still several weeks away from making a decision on whether to continue using internal models for Siri or move to a partner. And it hasn't yet determined who that partner may be.

Re:

[saloomy]

they should use XAi, which IMHO has the best voice mode of all of the current out there AIs. I use Grok in my Tesla, and when I get home, and am confronted with my HomePods, I want to cry, they suck so bad. I have subscribed to several of them. Currently use Grok Heavy mostly for work. It seems to write the best C.

Re: No, just no

[newcastlejon]

I tend to agree, but I'm much more concerned that there will be an option to disable it entirely.

Re: No, just no

[ArmoredDragon]

Using apple to avoid google is exactly like getting genital herpes to avoid gonorrhea. Once you're in the herpes club, you're stuck in the herpes club, and you'll never play well with anybody else again.

Re:

[fropenn]

Once you're in the herpes club, you're stuck in the herpes club

But at least my herpes status won't be sold to the highest bidders and used to push ads promoting "100% natural guaranteed herpes treatment!" and "find hot singles with herpes in your area now!"

Re:

[fropenn]

am confronted with my HomePods, I want to cry, they suck so bad

Did you try asking again from your iPhone? :) Yeah, they suck as a home assistant. Decent little home speakers to stream music, but home assistant generally very bad.

Re: No, just no

[ArmoredDragon]

You still get all of that from imessage spam, and don't worry, it's only for your exclusive club -- I've never gotten any of it.

Meanwhile, gonorrhea can be removed with grapheneos. You can't do anything about herpes. Why else did you think ArchieBunker is such a stick in the mud?

Re:

[fropenn]

I generally don't get much iMessage spam personally, I've heard reports that it can get bad; but I've also heard reports that it can be bad for Android devices, too, and I've not seen any evidence that one platform or another is better or worse for spam. Supposedly iOS 26 will have some additional features to decrease spam, particularly spam calls. One of the latest features is making politicians mad (https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/07/29/message-filtering-in-ios-26-upsetting-politicians-that-want-to-a

Re: No, just no

[ArmoredDragon]

but I've also heard reports that it can be bad for Android devices

No imessage on Android, so imessage spam can't reach you.

Re:

[fropenn]

No imessage on Android, so imessage spam can't reach you

Well, yes, clearly, but I meant spam in general on an Android vs. spam in general on an iPhone.

Re: No, just no

[ArmoredDragon]

Just SMS/RCS. Reason I know about this is about two years back my aunt insisted that my mom get an iphone, so I was like "fine, but you're going to have to help her figure it out when she needs it because I don't use them, and every time I've had to use them I've had nothing but trouble". The first problem that she ran into, and ultimately came to me for, was that she kept getting imessage spam from random @icloud accounts that don't even have a phone number attached to them.

Essentially apple made it incred

Re:

[fropenn]

It looks like you can filter unknown senders through a settings feature. Maybe this is a new feature (https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/block-filter-and-report-messages-iph203ab0be4/ios)? I agree though that it is too easy to fake an iCloud account with no phone number. My kids' friends "text" me all the time using their iCloud, and their parents think they are not able to text because they "don't have a phone number."

Re:

[organgtool]

The first rule of Herpes Club is that you don't talk about Herpes Club!

Re: No, just no

[LordofWinterfell]

So you avoid safari since it uses google for search?

Re:

[fropenn]

So you avoid safari since it uses google for search?

Safari -> Settings... -> Search -> DuckDuckGo

Re:

[Tony Isaac]

Only problem is, once you tap on a link provided by DDG search, you are directed to a website that almost certainly uses Google Analytics, which explicitly sends your data to Google, and serves Google Ads, which can only partially be blocked by ad blockers.

Re:

[Tony Isaac]

There is no avoiding Google.

Even if you don't install Google Navigation, you're probably using Google Search.
Even if you don't use Google Search, as soon as you tap a web link, you are taken to a website that almost certainly uses Google Analytics to track you, and serves Google Ads, which you can only partially block with ad blockers.
And those websites likely also send your data to Facebook (even if you don't have a Facebook account) and who knows how many other marketing firms.

Re:

[SleepingEye]

You think you're avoiding google? That's cute. 2 billion into being a search engine default? Ya no, there's 100% some backroom dealings. The service formerly known as i Ads which still exist, just doesn't have a public facing name? Even if you believe the 2b is JUST for the default search engine, what's the difference? Apple's still selling your info through their own ad service (unless you're fulling admitting that they're abusing their power because nobody in their right mind would use more expe

Modularity is the only answer

[SmaryJerry]

The problem with picking ChatGPT, Grok, or Gemini to power Apple's AI and Siri is that we are in a period of high growth and significant change where these models leap frog each other every couple of months. If Apple gets committed to a single provider they are basically gambling on a horse, and as they did with the first version of Apple Intelligence based on a early version of ChatGPT, they will have a high change of falling flat on their face. Anything they do now will be a step up from their current last place position in AI however as a device specialist the best option is to give users their own choice of AI that works best for them.

Re:

[Gievers]

I don't entirely agree with that.

Apple could clearly separate knowledge output and device control, so that replacing the underlying AI engine would not be a problem.

I consider the probability very high that Google, Facebook, and Microsoft will ultimately leave the competition behind. The reason is: These companies have easy access to content, which is not the case for their competitors. F.e. there was a recent report that OpenAI relies on Google for search queries.

Re:Modularity is the only answer

[Local ID10T]

By that logic, any choice will work the same as the others. It will leapfrog ahead, then fall behind, only to leapfrog ahead again. Once the market matures, all providers that survive will have equivalent offerings.

The trick is to pick a vendor that will survive the turmoil. (and to re-evaluate contracts regularly to maintain price parity.)

Re:

[SmaryJerry]

Well yes they need pick the right horse to survive the turmoil, but its still gambling because no one knows the the winner right now. All options are not equal and will not have equivalent capabilities in various capabilities and who does the leap frogging is not known. For example Grok 4 greatly exceed GPT 4 in every metric and even after the release of GPT 5 later on, Grok still remained ahead in nearly every intelligence metric. Point being that leapfrogging is not a certainty even with the most popular

Think about how much it'll cost the user..

[tekram]

That's you and your data and what Google is going to do with it. The cost is just too much for many to burden. You don't need every part of your lives to be shaped by Big Data.

Re:

[ASXGSdarkstar4r22r]

Your concern although valid, is about a decade too late. Hard pressed to spell any realistic alternatives that do not entail living under a rock.

So Apple is badly behind on AI !!

[bsdetector101]

Which we already knew about !

Re:

[organgtool]

Apple is rarely the first to market in any emerging product/service space. The really concerning part is that their constant floundering regarding AI may be indicative that they have no idea what the fuck they're doing for an important service that differs drastically from all of their other offerings. It's the predictable result of what happens when you install the money guy as CEO of one of the worlds largest tech companies.

Re:

[bsdetector101]

Sadly, Apple hasn't been the same since Steve Jobs died and Jon Ivey left.