The agreement represents a significant catch-up move for Apple, which has struggled to deliver AI features it promised iPhone users in 2024 while Google and Samsung have been rolling out comparable technology on their own devices.
Apple and Google disclosed a partnership Monday that will bring Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence technology to the iPhone, allowing Apple to draw on its rival’s AI systems to overhaul Siri and deliver a suite of features the Cupertino, California, company has fallen behind in delivering. The deal was announced in a joint statement from the two Silicon Valley companies.
The partnership will draw upon Google’s Gemini technology to customize a suite of AI features Apple has branded “Apple Intelligence” for the iPhone and other Apple products.
Apple has been playing catch-up in the AI race. Many of the features the company promised iPhone users in 2024 remain in development, while Google and Samsung have been rolling out comparable AI technology on their own devices. The most widely noted gap has been a promised overhaul of Siri that was supposed to transform the voice assistant into a more conversational and versatile tool. Apple acknowledged last year that the Siri upgrade would not arrive until sometime during 2026. Google ran advertising last summer that subtly called attention to the iPhone’s AI shortcomings alongside the release of its latest Pixel phone.
“A major validation moment for Google,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, in a Monday research note describing the Apple deal.
The Gemini partnership is the latest sign of momentum for Google’s AI platform, which has been adding features across its search engine and Gmail. A separate arrangement already makes OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot an option on the iPhone; the Gemini deal expands the AI options available to Apple users.
Google also has a long-running financial arrangement with Apple: the company pays Apple more than $20 billion annually to serve as the preferred search engine on iPhone and other Apple devices. A federal judge overseeing a U.S. government antitrust case against Google ruled that the arrangement may continue with some modifications — a decision investors interpreted as a relatively limited remedy. Alphabet’s stock has gained 57% since that ruling in early September, adding approximately $1.4 trillion in shareholder wealth, according to the Associated Press.
Alphabet crosses $4 trillion threshold
The Apple partnership announcement coincided with a milestone for Google’s parent company. Alphabet Inc. surpassed a market value of $4 trillion for the first time Monday, according to the Associated Press. Alphabet’s market value stood approximately $150 billion above Apple’s, which for years ranked as the world’s most valuable company before the rise of AI shifted the competitive landscape.
Apple and Microsoft both surpassed the $4 trillion mark last year but have since fallen below it. Nvidia, whose chips are central to AI computing, remains the most valuable publicly traded company at a market capitalization of $4.5 trillion, according to the AP.