A massive multi-year collaboration aims to fulfill Apple’s AI promises, though the alliance faces sharp criticism from Elon Musk and looming antitrust questions.
- A Historic Collaboration: Apple and Google have signed a multi-year deal for Google’s Gemini models to power the next generation of Apple Intelligence, specifically aiming to revitalize Siri by early this year.
- Privacy Meets Capability: While Apple admits Google offers the “most capable foundation,” the tech giant insists the AI will run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute to maintain strict privacy standards.
- Scrutiny and Skepticism: The deal has drawn fire from Elon Musk regarding market dominance and raises questions about compliance with recent antitrust rulings against Google’s search monopoly.
In a move that reshapes the artificial intelligence landscape, Apple and Google have formally announced a “Joint Statement” confirming a multi-year collaboration. Under this landmark agreement, the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be built upon Google’s Gemini models and cloud infrastructure. The primary goal is immediate and tangible: to power future Apple Intelligence features, including a significantly more personalized Siri, which is expected to launch later this year.
This partnership marks a pivotal moment for Apple, a company that has arguably struggled the most among big tech giants to deliver on the lofty AI promises it made back in 2024. By integrating Google’s technology, Apple is acknowledging a need for outside help. In their joint statement, the companies noted that “after careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google’s AI technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models.” This decision follows months of reported delays regarding Siri’s development and internal hints that Cupertino was looking outside its own labs for frontier-level models.
Revamping Siri and Protecting Privacy
The immediate consumer impact will be felt in the iOS ecosystem. The revamped Siri is reportedly scheduled to arrive in iOS 26.4 around March or April. While the “brains” of the operation may stem from Google’s Gemini, Apple is taking pains to assure users that the data architecture remains distinctly Apple.
The company stated that Apple Intelligence will continue to run either on-device or via its proprietary Private Cloud Compute. The goal is to unlock innovative new experiences while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading privacy standards. Currently, it remains unclear exactly what—if any—access Google will have to Apple customers’ data, though Apple asserts the arrangement is designed to preserve its strict privacy protocols.
The Critics: Musk Takes Aim
Not everyone is celebrating the union of these two Silicon Valley superpowers. Elon Musk, CEO of xAI (the maker of Grok), has publicly criticized the partnership. Musk called the deal an “unreasonable concentration of power” for Google, specifically citing the company’s existing dominance with Android and Chrome.
Musk’s criticism is not without personal context; he has previously sued both Apple and OpenAI, alleging various efforts to maintain market dominance. For Musk, a unified front between the maker of the iPhone and the owner of the world’s largest search engine represents a stifling of competition.
Navigating the Antitrust Minefield
Beyond Musk’s commentary, the deal faces a complex legal reality. It follows years of antitrust scrutiny regarding a previous arrangement where Google paid billions annually to remain the default search engine on Apple devices. In 2024, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google held an illegal monopoly in online search.
While Judge Mehta spared Google from the most drastic break-up remedies, he did rule that the company must share search data with rivals and placed restrictions on exclusive deals—including barring multi-year agreements for generative AI products.
Sources familiar with the matter told Axios that this new deal does not relate to Search or Gemini app distribution—the specific areas Judge Mehta’s order concerns. Furthermore, the source emphasized that the deal is notexclusive, potentially allowing Apple to partner with other AI providers in the future. Despite these assurances, it remains unclear how exactly this arrangement squares with the recent ruling, adding a layer of legal intrigue to the financial details, which Bloomberg reports could see Apple paying on the order of $1 billion per year for access to Google’s models.