Apple AI runs on Google servers but promises user privacy remains intact through new safeguards
15 Sources
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Apple says its AI is still private, even when it's running on Google's servers
CUPERTINO, California -- Apple announced earlier this year that its long-delayed Siri upgrade, announced this week as "Siri AI," would use Google's Gemini language models. What the company confirmed at its Worldwide Developers Conference yesterday was that it also ran on Nvidia hardware installed
[2]
Inside the new Siri AI and the privacy paradox of Apple Intelligence
To run errands across apps, Apple's upgraded assistant needs deep access to personal data the company has walled off for years During Monday's keynote at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), a presenter asked Siri to plan a watch party for a World Cup match. The virtual assistant pulled
[3]
Apple Debuts New AI Models Built With Gemini
Expertise Artificial intelligence, home energy, heating and cooling, home technology. Apple's AI upgrade has been rumored for a long time, but we got a look Monday at its WWDC developers conference, when the company announced new Apple Intelligence models it built in a partnership with Google,
[4]
Apple's AI pitch will live or die by its privacy promise
As expected, yesterday's WWDC keynote was mostly about AI. And also as expected, Apple tried to turn its late arrival into its sales pitch: it didn't rush into AI because it was taking its time to do things right. In this case, "right" means "with more privacy than anyone else." It's a good pitch
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I'm glad Apple isn't hyping up agentic AI (yet) - Engadget
Unlike its peers, Apple was more focused on making AI seem useful at WWDC. If you were to take a shot every time someone mentioned "agentic" AI at the most recent tech keynotes -- Google I/O, Microsoft Build and NVIDIA's Computex blowout -- you'd be sick in no time. It's the industry's latest
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Apple details the AI models behind the new Siri
Apple's third-generation Foundation Models, built with Google, include a sparse 20bn-parameter on-device model and three Private Cloud Compute models, some running on Nvidia GPUs in Google's cloud. The headline from Apple's developer conference was a reborn Siri. The more interesting story sits
[7]
Siri's big Apple Intelligence upgrades sound a whole lot like Gemini
The new Siri will be available on iPhone 16 or newer, as well as iPhone 15 Pro models. Apple held its annual WWDC keynote today. A lot of the presentation was dedicated to AI: There were some novel applications of the tech, like a new Reframe feature that lets you simulate repositioning your
[8]
Privacy is the linchpin of Apple's AI relaunch
The secure infrastructure includes features like an AI-powered Passwords app and allows outside researchers to verify system integrity for transparency. One of the most promising new AI features Apple announced during Monday's WWDC keynote is also among the scariest: the ability for Apple's
[9]
Siri AI may be privacy-first, but the new 'personal-context understanding' features really creep me out
Useful? Maybe. Private? Sure. But it still doesn't sit right with me The idea of being able to keep your personal data private feels rather laughable at the moment. It feels as though it's all being collected and monitored to try and sell you more stuff. Throwing AI into the mix, and letting it
[10]
Apple Reveals New AI Architecture Built Around Google Gemini Models
Apple today announced a major overhaul of its Apple Intelligence platform, revealing a new architecture built on foundation models developed in collaboration with Google using the technologies behind the Gemini family. The new architecture centers on Apple Foundation Models co-developed with
[11]
Apple rebuilds Siri on Google AI and Nvidia chips at WWDC
Apple rebuilt Siri on a custom 1.2T-parameter Gemini model running on Nvidia Blackwell GPUs in Google Cloud. Federighi says requests are never stored. The company unveiled five new AI models and a three-tier privacy architecture. Apple's most important AI announcement at WWDC 2026 was not a
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This is how Apple built 'a Siri that's profoundly more capable' -- and yes, it was done with Google and Nvidia's help
The all-new Siri AI is the product of intense collaboration between Apple and Google that stops short of Google's AI assistant When Apple talks about how it used Google's Gemini foundation models to build the all-new Siri, without using the Gemini app, it can start to sound like semantics. But a
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Why Apple's on-Device AI is NVIDIA's New Problem
Apple's 2026 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) highlighted a significant shift in artificial intelligence, focusing on on-device processing rather than cloud-based systems. Nate Jones explains how Apple's approach, built on its Apple Foundation models and Core AI framework, emphasizes user
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Apple Rebuilds Siri AI With Models Distilled From Google's Gemini, But Daily Usage Limits Are Coming
The undisputed star of the show is finally here. Apple has just unveiled the all-new Siri AI, which is powered by the much-improved Apple Foundation Models. Siri AI has world knowledge as well as your personal information on its fingertips, and is fundamentally on-screen aware Apple is now
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Apple is running its most powerful AI on Google's cloud: Here's what that means for your privacy
For years, Apple has made sure that you knew that your data belongs to you. Be it on the device or on the cloud - whatever they do with it, they keep it safe and within your control. It is the core principle of their brand, and something that has become almost an identity trait over the years. That
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Apple revealed at WWDC that its upgraded Siri AI runs on Google's infrastructure using Nvidia hardware, marking a significant shift from its previous approach. The company insists its user privacy protections remain strong through an upgraded Private Cloud Compute system, even as it relies on third-party infrastructure. The move raises questions about how Apple balances its privacy commitments with the computational demands of modern AI.
Apple AI Shifts to Google Infrastructure While Maintaining Privacy Claims
Apple confirmed at its Worldwide Developers Conference that Siri AI, the company's long-delayed assistant upgrade, now runs on Google servers equipped with Nvidia hardware
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. This marks a dramatic departure from Apple's previous stance of running AI models either locally on devices or exclusively on Apple-controlled server hardware. The shift reflects the computational reality facing Apple AI: the company's own hardware infrastructure couldn't provide the capacity needed to support advanced language models at scale1
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Source: Digit
Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, explained that Apple Intelligence relies on a tiered architecture managed by the System Orchestrator, an on-device feature that determines which model handles each query
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. Most devices run AFM 3 Core, a new Gemini-based model co-developed through the Google Gemini partnership. Devices with at least 12GB of RAM use AFM 3 Core Advanced, which leverages additional hardware for improved dictation and more expressive voice capabilities1
.Private Cloud Compute Expands to Third-Party Infrastructure
For complex queries requiring more computational power, Apple deploys cloud-based Apple Foundation Models including AFM 3 Cloud for general use, ADM 3 Cloud for image generation, and AFM 3 Cloud Pro for advanced reasoning. The Cloud Pro model, derived from a specialized version of Gemini with approximately 1.2 trillion parameters, runs entirely on third-party infrastructure
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. This arrangement reportedly costs Apple about $1 billion annually2
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Source: CNET
To maintain user privacy on Google servers, Apple upgraded Private Cloud Compute with multiple security layers. The system now uses Nvidia's Confidential Computing, Intel's Trust Domain Extensions, and Google's Titan security chip
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. Apple maintains "a cryptographically verifiable, append-only ledger" of all Google Cloud hardware in the Private Cloud Compute fleet, and devices only trust software signed by Apple1
. However, the company acknowledges these Google Cloud servers don't yet support all the same protections as Apple's own infrastructure, with complete protections rolling out throughout the summer preview period1
.On-Device Processing Minimizes Data Exposure
The System Orchestrator ensures only necessary data leaves devices, a critical component of Apple's privacy promise
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. Federighi emphasized that on-device processing handles simpler queries entirely, while Private Cloud Compute "vaporizes" any record of data immediately after answering questions. "This is not stored. It's all in a form where it's completely transient," he explained5
. The architecture represents Apple's attempt to balance the computational demands of modern AI with its longstanding commitment to keeping user data private3
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Source: The Verge
Yet security researchers identify vulnerabilities in this expanded access. To execute tasks across multiple apps, Siri AI requires deep access to messages, emails, photos, and calendars—data Apple previously walled off
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. Natalie Shapira from Northeastern University warns that "autonomous agents significantly expand the attack surface for prompt injection"2
. The risk of indirect prompt injection—where malicious instructions embedded in emails or websites trick AI into leaking private data—represents what researcher Simon Willison calls a "lethal trifecta"2
.Related Stories
Privacy Architecture Faces Scrutiny as Apple Plays Catchup
Florian Schaub, a privacy researcher at the University of Michigan, notes that while Apple's openness to outside inspection is welcome, "consumers often lack the expertise to inspect code"
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. Until Apple opens its hybrid cloud arrangement with Google to the same external inspection it promises for Private Cloud Compute, the security of transient data routing rests largely on the company's word2
.The company's privacy pitch becomes more critical as it trails competitors in AI capabilities. Apple is "undeniably behind almost every competitor on AI, even after yesterday's announcements," making its privacy differentiation essential
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. Unlike Google's Gemini, which collects prompts, files, and conversation recordings for 18 months by default, Apple claims it doesn't store conversation logs except on-device in encrypted iCloud accounts4
.Apple notably avoided excessive hype around agentic AI at WWDC, focusing instead on practical applications
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. The company did introduce limited agentic features, including automatic password changes for compromised accounts and Safari's "Notify Me" function for tracking website changes5
. Siri AI won't reach iPhones or iPads in the European Union at launch, with Apple citing the Digital Markets Act as the reason, though the service will run on Macs and other devices there2
.The multi-modal model approach allows Apple Intelligence to understand speech and images while working across apps
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. Whether Apple's upgraded privacy architecture can withstand scrutiny while running on Nvidia hardware in Google's data centers will determine if the company's privacy promise remains credible as it catches up in the AI race.References
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