Apple Unveils New Siri AI Architecture Built on Google Gemini at WWDC 2026
Tags AI · Consumer · Infrastructure
At WWDC 2026, Apple announced a comprehensive overhaul of Siri powered by a new AI architecture built around Google Gemini models, marking a significant strategic shift for Apple's AI capabilities. The new Siri will be available as a stand-alone app and is directly embedded into the iPhone camera app, with additional AI tools in the Photos app for image manipulation. Apple also announced it is waiving cloud API costs for developers with fewer than 2 million first-time App Store downloads, a move aimed at attracting smaller developers to build AI-powered features. The company simultaneously confirmed that macOS 27 will require Apple Silicon, officially ending support for Intel Macs. iOS 27 introduces a Liquid Glass design language with an opacity slider and various UI refinements.
Technical significance
Apple's decision to build Siri's new architecture on Google Gemini represents a major concession that its in-house AI models could not match competitor capabilities. This creates a dependency on a key competitor (Google) for core functionality on 1.5 billion+ active Apple devices. For developers, the waived cloud API costs for sub-2M-download apps lower the barrier to adding AI features, potentially accelerating the proliferation of AI-powered apps on the App Store. The end of Intel Mac support also accelerates the full transition to Apple Silicon, consolidating Apple's vertical integration strategy.