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Apple taps Google’s Gemini for next Siri, AI features

Apple and Google have agreed to a multi-year partnership to use Google’s Gemini AI models and cloud infrastructure for Apple’s next wave of AI features.

The companies said future Apple Intelligence products, including an updated Siri expected later this year, will be powered in part by Gemini.

Apple said it chose Google’s AI technology after an evaluation process.

Apple Intelligence features will continue to operate on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, with the company stating its privacy standards remain unchanged.

🔗 Source: Google

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Apple’s AI deal terms still unclear for investors

  • Bloomberg says Apple might pay Google about $1 billion a year for AI use 1. Details on fees, revenue splits, or exclusivity are missing. Model coverage and term remain unknown. Margin effects are undisclosed.
  • Google already pays Apple billions a year to be default search on iPhones 1, so money could move both ways if Apple pays for AI, though net effect on each firm’s results is unknown.
  • Scope is unclear. The deal might cover only consumer features or reach enterprise uses, and whether Google gets data access or training rights is unclear. Without clarity, investors cannot gauge effects on AI plans or profit.

Third-party developers get new Siri surfaces this year

  • Updated Siri adds on-screen awareness (Siri can understand then act on what is on screen) and improved natural language understanding (better comprehension of conversational requests) 2.
  • Apple’s App Intents framework (a toolkit to expose app features to Siri plus system intelligence) brings 12 domains (task categories) and 100+ actions (capabilities Siri can invoke) 2. Mail and Photos are available to try now. Domains will roll out, and actions will surface in Siri (the places users interact with Siri, such as voice prompts or on-screen suggestions) as updates ship 2.
  • Developers can use Assistant Schemas (structured descriptions of an app’s capabilities) and the new IndexedEntity Application Programming Interface (API) for semantic search (finding items by meaning rather than exact keywords) 2 so their content surfaces in Siri plus Apple Intelligence as features roll out.

Recent Apple developments

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