Apple ships iOS 27 with Google-powered Siri AI

Apple ↗ 0.24% released iOS 27 on Monday, September 14, delivering a rebuilt Siri assistant whose underlying intelligence draws on Google Alphabet Inc. ↗ 3.06% Gemini models — a partnership that places a rival's AI at the heart of Apple's most personal product.

The update, which began rolling out at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, brings what Apple calls "Siri AI" to iPhone 15 Pro and newer models. CNBC reported that the new Siri AI launched in beta, requiring users to opt in through the settings app, with some placed on a waitlist before gaining access.macrumors+1

What the New Siri Does

Siri AI is designed to hold extended conversations supporting more than 20 consecutive exchanges, understand on-screen content, and chain actions across Apple's own apps including Messages, Mail, Notes, and Calendar. A dedicated Siri app saves previous queries and syncs conversation history across devices.plainenglish+2

Apple confirmed the partnership with Google in January 2026, with CNBC reporting that the multiyear deal gives Apple access to a custom version of Gemini running through Apple's Private Cloud Compute infrastructure. The recurring cost has been widely reported at roughly $1 billion per year. On-device tasks such as dictation and quick personal-context lookups run on Apple's own foundation models, while heavier reasoning requests route to Gemini in the cloud.kersai+3

Privacy and Limits

Apple positioned its architecture as a compromise: user data processed through Private Cloud Compute is not stored or made readable to Google, according to Apple. Still, the arrangement puts pressure on Apple's longstanding privacy branding, particularly given that it deepens a commercial relationship already under antitrust scrutiny over Google's default search engine payments in Safari.wionews+2

CNBC reported that some Siri AI and Apple Intelligence cloud features will be subject to daily usage limits, with expanded access available "for a fee in the future". The assistant launches in English only, with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish support expected next month. Apple said Siri AI will not initially be available in the EU or China due to regulatory reasons.cnbc

What Google Gains

For Google, the deal amounts to one of the largest AI distribution agreements to date. Its models now power the default assistant on the world's most profitable smartphone platform, giving Gemini reach across hundreds of millions of devices whose owners skew toward the high-spending demographics Google prizes most. Whether Apple continues building its own models to reduce that dependency — and how quickly — will be among the most closely watched dynamics in the industry over the coming year.wionews