Apple Shifts to Partner-First AI Strategy, Eyes Gemini Integration for Siri

Apple pivots from in-house development—taps external AI giants to supercharge Siri's capabilities.

The Partnership Play

Instead of burning billions on catching up to ChatGPT, Apple's cutting deals. Google's Gemini AI might soon power Siri's brain—bypassing years of R&D delays.

Wall Street's already pricing in the 'innovation by acquisition' strategy—because why build when you can buy your way to relevance?

Cook hints at AI strategy

On Apple’s recent earnings call, Cook was asked a question about whether models are becoming commoditized. As Kovach paraphrased it, Cook “didn’t want to talk about that because it WOULD give away his strategy,” a response that analysts read as consistent with a partnership-first posture.

The Siri revamp is “not expected to launch until 2026,” which Kovach described as “the new deadline Apple set for itself.” That extended timetable suggests Apple aims to include the technology into iPhone software and services, likely with on-device and private-cloud components, rather than rush out a stopgap.

Key uncertainties remain, especially on pricing and revenue sharing.

“We don’t know what the economics of this are like,” Kovach said. “Is it going to be Google paying Apple? Is it going to be Apple paying Google? How those economics works are going to be really interesting.”

He also highlighted a separate report that Alphabet secured a six-year, $10 billion cloud contract with Meta, adding to momentum around Google’s enterprise AI push.