Apple confirms Gemini-powered Siri will use Private Cloud Compute to protect user privacy

Apple confirms Gemini-powered Siri will use Private Cloud Compute - 9to5Mac

During today's fiscal Q1 2026 earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Kevan Parekh fielded, albeit vaguely, questions regarding the recent deal to have Gemini power the next-gen Siri. Here's what they said. Today's fiscal Q1 2026 conference call had two main themes: memory constraints, and AI. And while some questions focused on how Apple plans to monetize Apple Intelligence, others pressed executives on the technical and business aspects of the 'collaboration,' as Cook repeatedly put it." As expected, Apple declined to provide any specific details as to the terms of the deal. Still, Cook did share one piece of information that cleared up some of the confusion that followed Apple and Google's initial joint announcement, as to where exactly the models would run: "We believe that we can unlock a lot of experiences and innovate in a key way due to the collaboration. We'll continue to run on the device and run in Private Cloud Compute, and maintain our industry-leading privacy standards in doing so." Interestingly, Cook also mentioned that Apple will "obviously independently continue to do some of [its] own stuff," but made it clear that Apple's own in-house developments will not affect the Gemini deal: "The personalized version of Siri is a collaboration with Google." As to the question regarding Apple's expected return on investment when it comes to Apple Intelligence, Cook said: Well, let me just say that we're bringing intelligence to more of what people love and we're integrating it across the operating system in a personal and private way. And I think that by doing so, it creates great value and that opens up a range of opportunities across our products and services. (...) And we're very happy with the collaboration with Google as well." When asked about the percentage of iPhone users that currently have access to Apple Intelligence-powered features, and how much that is driving sales and upgrades, Cook and Parekh declined to comment.

Apple Explains How Gemini-Powered Siri Will Work

Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday reiterated the structure of its partnership with Google to use Gemini AI models for the next generation version of Siri. During the company's Q1 2026 earnings call yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Kevan Parekh were asked several questions about Apple Intelligence and the company's recently announced deal with Google to power the personalized version of Siri using Gemini. We basically determined that Google's AI technology would provide the most capable foundation for AFM (Apple Foundation Models), and we believe that we can unlock a lot of experiences and innovate in a key way due to the collaboration. We'll continue to run on the device and run in Private Cloud Compute and maintain our industry-leading privacy standards in doing so. In terms of the arrangement with Google, we're not releasing the details of that. That description closely matches language from Apple and Google's earlier joint announcement, which said that Apple Intelligence would continue to operate on Apple hardware and Private Cloud Compute. Cook also addressed Apple's own artificial intelligence development efforts, noting that the company continues to build its own technology alongside the Gemini partnership, but clarified that those efforts do not replace Google's role in the personalized Siri system. You should think of it as a collaboration. And we'll obviously independently continue to do some of our own stuff, but you should think of what is going to power the personalized version of Siri as a collaboration with Google. When asked about monetization and return on investment, Cook framed Apple Intelligence as a feature integrated across Apple's platforms rather than a discrete revenue driver. We're bringing intelligence to more of what people love and we're integrating it across the operating system in a personal and private way, and I think that by doing so, it creates great value, and that opens up a range of opportunities across our products and services. And we're very happy with the collaboration with Google as well, I should add. Neither Cook nor Parekh disclosed how many users currently have access to Apple Intelligence features or whether those capabilities are driving hardware upgrades. Apple previously acknowledged that Apple Intelligence is limited to devices with sufficient memory and processing capacity, which constrains availability somewhat.

Apple confirms Gemini runs on Private Cloud Compute for privacy - Phandroid

Apple CEO Tim Cook just addressed privacy concerns about the company's Gemini partnership during Apple's fiscal Q1 2026 earnings call. With Google's AI now powering the next generation of Apple Intelligence features, some users worried about data sharing with Google. Cook made it clear that won't happen. "We believe that we can unlock a lot of experiences and innovate in a key way due to the collaboration," Cook said. "We'll continue to run on the device and run in Private Cloud Compute, and maintain our industry-leading privacy standards in doing so." The statement confirms that despite using Google's Gemini models, user data stays within Apple's ecosystem. The Apple Gemini deal reportedly costs around $1 billion per year and will power a smarter Siri coming later this year. But Apple's not compromising on privacy to make it happen. Apple Private Cloud Compute is designed to handle AI tasks too complex for on-device processing. Unlike typical cloud AI services that store conversation history and build user profiles, Apple treats each interaction as isolated. No data gets stored on Google's servers. The system anonymizes requests before any processing happens. For simpler tasks, Apple's on-device AI handles everything locally without touching the cloud. Only more complex queries that need Gemini's power get sent to Apple Private Cloud Compute. However, even then identifiers linking back to users are removed. This hybrid approach gives Apple the benefits of Google's advanced AI without the usual privacy tradeoffs. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo calls the partnership a temporary solution while Apple builds its own AI infrastructure, but Cook's comments show the company is committed to maintaining privacy standards throughout.

Perhaps the Gemini deal isn't the Apple AI partnership we should be focused on?

Apple may be basing the Siri revamp on Google Gemini, but internally, Apple reportedly prefers a different AI chatbot. Apple 'runs on Anthropic' - the AI software company behind the consumer-facing Claude chatbot, according to a well-connected Apple Insider. After Apple signed a wide-ranging agreement with Google for Gemini to power the new-and-improved Siri assistant coming this year, the new Bloomberg reporter claims to shed light on the internal AI tools Apple uses for product development tasks. In an interview with TPBN (via 9to5Mac), Gurman revealed Apple has deployed custom versions of the Claude chatbot littered across its internal servers. Interestingly, Gurman says, Apple was so enamoured with Claude, it was initially planning to base the Siri revamp on Anthrophic's platform. However, Google was cheaper. Much cheaper. Gurman says: "Apple runs on Anthropic at this point. Anthropic is powering a lot of the stuff Apple's doing internally in terms of product development and a lot of their internal tools." "They have custom versions of Claude running on their own servers internally, too. This Google deal just came together a few months ago. They were not going to use Google. Apple actually was going to rebuild Siri around Claude. But Anthropic was holding them over a barrel. They wanted a ton of money from them, several billion dollars a year, and at a price that doubled on an annual basis for the next three years." You can watch the clip in full below... Apple and Google announced their alliance to power the new conversational Siri in January and we may see it previewed as soon as this February. The statement read: "Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google's Gemini models and cloud technology. These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalised Siri coming this year. "After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google's Al technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users. Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple's industry-leading privacy standards."