Apple is officially adopting Google Gemini as the backbone of its AI-powered Siri upgrade, with the switch landing for customers “later this year.”
Apple, speaking to CNBC (via 9to5Mac), has confirmed that Gemini will power Apple Foundation Models going forward. The company says:
After careful evaluation, we determined that Google’s technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and we’re excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for our users
This comes after months of prior rumors and reports on the matter, including one report that claims the partnership is worth around $1 billion. That same report claimed that Google is building a custom 1.2 trillion parameter Gemini model for Apple, far beyond what Apple’s own models are currently capable of. Some features of the AI-powered Siri would still use Apple’s models, but some features such as “summarizer and planner functions” would go to Google.
Further, the model Apple would be using will reportedly run on Apple’s own servers instead of Google’s.
Advertisement - scroll for more contentToday’s report doesn’t touch on the functionality, but CNBC says that this is a “multi-year partnership” that would result in new features arriving as soon as “later this year.”
Update: Google has published a brief statement on the partnership, saying:
Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology. These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming this year.
After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google’s Al technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users. Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading privacy standards.
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