Apple used its WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8 to deliver the Siri overhaul it has promised for two years, and the new assistant is powered by Google. The rebuilt Siri runs on a custom 1.2-trillion-parameter Gemini model that Apple licensed from Google in a deal reported at roughly $1 billion per year, confirmed on stage during Tim Cook's final keynote as CEO before he hands the role to hardware chief John Ternus on September 1.
The new Siri introduces a chatbot-style interface comparable to ChatGPT and Claude, a standalone Siri app with a system-wide "Search or Ask" gesture, Dynamic Island integration on iPhone 16 and newer, personal-context access across email, photos, messages, calendar, and files, on-screen awareness, and deeper cross-app actions. The heavy reasoning runs on Apple's Private Cloud Compute servers rather than Google's infrastructure, which Apple positions as its privacy differentiator.
Alongside Siri, Apple announced iOS 27, macOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27. iOS 27 Beta 1 shipped the same afternoon to developers. iPhone 11 was dropped from support, and Apple Intelligence features require iPhone 15 Pro or newer at launch. The company also demonstrated generative Photos editing, an AI-powered Calendar app, and a rebuilt Health app with Siri integration.
The most consequential policy shift: iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 will let users choose which model powers Apple Intelligence — ChatGPT, Gemini, or Anthropic's Claude — each with its own distinct voice. Gemini is the default. It is the most significant AI platform decision Apple has made in a decade, turning over 2 billion active devices into a distribution channel that three frontier labs will now compete to occupy.
Source: [NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/06/08/nx-s1-5847937/apple-wwdc-2026-siri-ai-tim-cook)