Google's Gemini AI may become Siri's new 'brain'
What's the story
Apple is in talks with Google to leverage its advanced Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) for a major revamp of the Siri voice assistant. The Cupertino-based tech giant had first revealed plans for this update at WWDC 2024, but has since delayed it by over a year due to engineering challenges. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple is exploring a partnership with Google for this purpose.
Internal trials
Apple has also explored partnerships with Anthropic and OpenAI
As part of these talks, Apple has reportedly asked Google to help build a custom AI model for the revamped Siri. The tech giant is said to have started training a model that could run on Apple's servers. Apple has also explored partnerships with Anthropic and OpenAI to see if either Claude or ChatGPT could power the new Siri.
Model competition
Apple is conducting an internal 'bake-off'
Apple is said to be conducting an internal 'bake-off' to determine which of the two approaches would work best for the new Siri. The company is developing two versions of Siri: Linwood, powered by its own AI models, and Glenwood, which runs on external AI models. A decision on which model will power the revamped Siri is still weeks away.
Cloud integration
Third-party models will run via Apple's servers
If Apple decides to go with third-party models for the new Siri, it will likely run them via its Private Cloud Compute servers. These servers use Mac chips for remote AI processing. However, this would also mean that the new version of Siri won't run on devices. The ongoing talks are different from other discussions held by Apple to integrate chatbots into Apple Intelligence.