Apple and Google have announced that the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology.
Anisha Bhatia, senior technology analyst at GlobalData, says the partnership is a win-win for both companies.
“The move signals Apple’s intent to fast-track the long-promised overhaul of Siri’s core artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities – first outlined two years ago, but yet to reach users at scale.
“For Apple, partnering, rather than building an end-to-end AI proprietary model stack, could compress time-to-market and reduce execution risk by leveraging mature, already-deployed technology.
“For Google, the arrangement represents a material commercial upside – estimated at around $1-billion per year in revenue from Apple – with further growth potential as enterprise and consumer AI adoption scales.
“The partnership also carries important competitive implications,” Bhatia adds. “OpenAI has positioned itself as a direct challenger to Google across search-adjacent and assistant use cases, while simultaneously expanding beyond a model provider into a consumer-facing product ecosystem – including working with Apple design veteran Jony Ive on a dedicated AI device.
“In this context, deeper integration with Apple strengthens Google’s distribution and monetization footprint at a time when competitive pressure is rising.
“And, despite relying on Google’s Gemini models and cloud infrastructure, Apple can still preserve its privacy-and-security positioning by keeping user data flows, identity controls, and policy enforcement within Apple’s own trust boundary.”