For fifteen years, Siri was the butt of the joke — the assistant that set timers fine and fumbled everything else. That era is over. With iOS 27, Apple has rebuilt Siri from the ground up, and the engine under the hood is one nobody expected: Google’s Gemini.
Yes, you read that right. The iPhone’s assistant now runs on technology from Apple’s biggest rival. It is the most consequential admission in consumer tech in a decade, and it changes what your iPhone can actually do for you. Here is what changed, what it can do today, what it still cannot do, and what it means for you.
How we got here: the deal Apple never wanted to make
Apple’s Siri problems were never a secret. The company promised a smarter, more personal Siri for years, then delayed it again and again while ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude raced ahead. Behind the scenes, Apple tested all three rival models — Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude — and, according to Bloomberg’s reporting, settled on Google earlier this year.
In January 2026, Apple confirmed the arrangement: its latest foundation models were developed in collaboration with Google and are based on Gemini models and cloud technology. Reports put the price at around $1 billion a year for a custom, ultrapowerful Gemini model — a system far larger than the roughly 150-billion-parameter model that previously powered the cloud side of Apple Intelligence.
Apple is careful about how it frames this. Google is a behind-the-scenes supplier, not a brand on your lock screen. The model runs on Apple’s own Private Cloud Compute servers, and Apple says your data is not stored by or visible to Google. Think of it less as “Siri became Gemini” and more as “Apple rented Google’s engine and bolted it into its own car.”
What the new Siri can actually do
The rebuilt assistant, called Siri AI, was unveiled at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2026 and entered beta with iOS 27 on September 14, 2026. It is a genuine generational leap over the old Siri, in four specific ways:
1. It understands your personal context. The new Siri can draw on your emails, messages, calendar, photos, and files to answer questions that the old Siri could never touch — “When is my flight on Friday?” or “Find the photo from last weekend’s dinner.” It connects the dots across your own data instead of treating every question in isolation.
2. It sees what’s on your screen. Ask about something you’re looking at — an article, a photo, a message thread — and Siri can interpret it and act on it, rather than making you explain everything from scratch.
3. It handles multi-step tasks. Instead of one command, one action, the new Siri can chain things together: summarize a long email thread, draft a reply, and set a reminder about it, all from a single request. It works across apps like Mail, Messages, and Calendar, and can hold a real back-and-forth conversation instead of resetting after every answer.
4. It answers real questions, not just commands. For broad, open-ended questions, the new Siri can search the web and synthesize an answer — and, according to Apple’s own Applebot support page, those answers “may include links to sources.” That is a quiet but important change: Siri is becoming a discovery tool, not just a remote control for your phone.
What it costs you: privacy, and the fine print
The obvious question is what Google gets out of this — and what happens to your data. Apple’s answer has two layers. Simple tasks stay on Apple’s own on-device models, so they never leave your phone. Harder questions go to Private Cloud Compute, Apple’s cloud system, which CNBC reported runs on Google Cloud infrastructure. Apple says none of that data is stored or seen by Google.
That distinction matters. Your requests may travel over Google-built infrastructure, but Apple insists the data itself stays walled off. Privacy advocates will keep watching this closely, and if you are uncomfortable, the old on-device Siri behavior still covers the basics. But for most users, the practical trade is this: you get a dramatically smarter assistant, and Apple takes on the job of keeping Google at arm’s length.
Can your iPhone run it? Device support and availability
Not every iPhone gets the new Siri. Here is where things stand:
– Devices: iPhone 15 Pro and newer. Older iPhones keep the classic Siri.
– Status: Beta, and opt-in only. You have to turn it on yourself in Settings, and some users land on a waitlist first.
– Languages: English only at launch. Apple said French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish would follow in October.
– Regions: Not launching yet in the EU or China for regulatory reasons — though China has its own twist (see below).
If you have a compatible iPhone, the upgrade path is simple: update to iOS 27, open Settings, and enable the new Siri. If you are on an older phone, this is the single biggest reason yet to consider upgrading — and Apple’s first foldable iPhone is worth a look before you decide, alongside the budget-friendly iPhone 17e.
The China exception: Qwen instead of Gemini
China gets a different version of the same story. On October 31, 2026, Alibaba announced that its Qwen AI model will power parts of Apple Intelligence for iPhone users in China — covering Siri, Writing Tools, and Visual Intelligence. Developers can try it in the latest iOS beta from November 4, with a wider rollout in iOS 27.3 in December.
It is the same playbook with a local partner: where regulation blocks Google, Apple plugs in a domestic model instead. For users outside China, the practical takeaway is simpler — Apple is now comfortable running its flagship assistant on someone else’s model, wherever it operates.
The Extensions framework: choose your own AI brain
The WWDC announcement carried one more surprise that most coverage underplayed. Apple introduced an Extensions framework that, according to reports from the event, lets users choose between Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT as the AI powering Apple Intelligence features, with Gemini as the default. Code found around the iOS 27 launch points the same way: Siri AI appears built so its model can be swapped.
Treat this as “reported, not yet shipped” — Apple has not turned it into a finished, public feature you can toggle today. But the direction is clear. The assistant wars may end not with one winner, but with one assistant that lets you pick its brain. OpenAI, for its part, is pushing ahead with GPT-6’s intelligent UI, its own take on an assistant that does more than chat. Google, meanwhile, is consolidating its own lineup — it is retiring Gemini Gems in favor of Skills.
New boss, same message: what Apple’s CEO just said
The timing is no coincidence. Apple recently handed the CEO job to hardware engineering chief John Ternus, with Tim Cook moving to executive chairman. In his first major interview as CEO, with Wired’s Steven Levy on November 1, Ternus defended Apple’s cautious AI strategy: the company will not ship AI features just to match rivals, he said, and AI should improve the experience without becoming the center of attention.
“I really like where we’re at,” Ternus said — a confident line from a CEO whose company’s most important AI product runs on a rival’s model. Read it as Apple’s new pitch: the model underneath matters less than what it does for you.
Old Siri vs. new Siri: the honest comparison
| Old Siri | New Siri (Siri AI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Understanding | One command at a time | Multi-step, conversational tasks |
| Personal context | Almost none | Emails, messages, calendar, photos |
| Screen awareness | No | Yes — it can see what you’re looking at |
| App actions | Basic shortcuts | Actions across Mail, Messages, Calendar and more |
| Web answers | Mostly “here’s what I found” | Synthesized answers, sometimes with source links |
| Engine | Apple’s own models | Apple foundation models built on Google Gemini |
| Availability | Every iPhone | iPhone 15 Pro and newer, beta, opt-in |
What this means for you: practical takeaways
If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or newer: Update to iOS 27 and try the beta. Start with the tasks the old Siri failed at — summarizing a thread, finding something across your apps, planning from your calendar — and judge it on those, not on setting timers. AI assistants are already changing everyday life in ways that go well beyond voice commands.
If you have an older iPhone: The new Siri is the strongest upgrade argument Apple has made in years, but it is not the only one. Apple’s latest hardware, including its new Mac lineup, is built around the same on-device AI push — worth weighing before you buy.
If you care about privacy: Know the split. On-device work stays on your phone; harder questions go to Private Cloud Compute. Apple says Google never sees your data, but the infrastructure connection is real, and it is fair to keep asking questions about it.
If you run a website: Siri is now a traffic surface. Its web answers can draw on Applebot’s crawled data, so make sure Applebot can reach your pages — and that your content is specific and well-sourced enough for an AI to cite. The same work that helps with Google’s AI Overviews is a good starting point here, since both now run on the Gemini family.
The verdict
Apple did not build the smartest AI assistant in the world. It bought access to one, wrapped it in its own privacy architecture, and shipped it to a billion iPhones. That is either a humiliation or a masterstroke, depending on your loyalties — but for users, the distinction barely matters. What matters is that Siri finally works the way it was always supposed to.
The open questions are worth watching: whether the Extensions framework turns into real model choice, how often Siri actually links to sources, and how the Qwen-powered version in China compares. For now, though, the punchline has flipped. The assistant everyone mocked is now powered by the model family behind Google’s own AI — and for the first time in fifteen years, Siri is worth taking seriously.
Frequently asked questions
Does Siri use Gemini? Yes. The rebuilt Siri in iOS 27 runs on Apple foundation models developed with Google and based on Gemini technology. Simple tasks still use Apple’s on-device models; harder questions go through Private Cloud Compute.
Which iPhones support the new Siri? iPhone 15 Pro and newer, in beta. You must opt in through Settings, and some users join a waitlist first.
Is my data shared with Google? Apple says no: requests run on its Private Cloud Compute servers, and your data is not stored by or seen by Google, even though the underlying cloud infrastructure reportedly runs on Google Cloud.
When will the new Siri come to the EU or China? Not yet, for regulatory reasons. In China, Apple Intelligence will instead use Alibaba’s Qwen model, with a developer beta from November 4, 2026 and a wider rollout in iOS 27.3 in December.
Can I switch Siri from Gemini to ChatGPT or Claude? Not as a finished public feature today. Apple announced an Extensions framework at WWDC 2026 that points in that direction, and code in iOS 27 hints at model swapping — but treat it as something to watch, not something you can toggle now.
