A smarter version of Siri powered by Google’s Gemini AI may finally debut in the iOS 26.4 beta as early as February 2026.
Quick Summary – TLDR:
- Apple is expected to unveil its first Gemini-powered Siri features with iOS 26.4 in February 2026.
- The upgrade will improve Siri’s ability to understand context and perform in-app actions.
- A more advanced chatbot-style version of Siri, codenamed Campos, is planned for WWDC in June.
- The Gemini integration marks Apple’s biggest step yet in catching up with AI leaders like OpenAI and Google.
What Happened?
After years of lagging behind in the AI space, Apple is finally making a bold move. According to Bloomberg, the tech giant is preparing to roll out a revamped Siri powered by Google’s Gemini AI in February 2026. This will be the first public result of Apple’s partnership with Google and is expected to ship with the iOS 26.4 beta. While this version won’t be a full chatbot just yet, it will bring meaningful improvements over the current Siri experience.
Apple $AAPL is reportedly less than a month away from releasing a new AI update powered by Google’s Gemini $GOOGL for Siri Apple’s assistant – Bloomberg pic.twitter.com/kgcUBdzdho
— Evan (@StockMKTNewz) January 25, 2026
Apple Teams Up with Google to Supercharge Siri
Apple reportedly held discussions with multiple AI providers, including OpenAI and Anthropic, before settling on Google’s Gemini models. Cost concerns and strategic mismatches were cited as reasons for not moving forward with the other two companies. Gemini offered both rapid development and agreeable terms, making it the chosen platform to power Apple’s AI ambitions.
The new Siri system will run on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute infrastructure, using servers equipped with high-end Mac chips. Internally, Apple is calling this system Apple Foundation Models v10, built around a 1.2 trillion parameter AI model, a massive leap from its earlier in-house efforts.
Siri Gets Smarter with iOS 26.4
The Siri coming in iOS 26.4 will not be a full AI chatbot yet, but it will be far more capable than what users currently experience. Some expected features include:
- World Knowledge Answers, offering web-based summarized answers with citations.
- Deeper screen awareness and personal context understanding.
- The ability to take actions within apps, such as writing emails or editing photos by voice.
- Integration across key Apple apps like Mail, Music, Podcasts, TV, Xcode, and Photos.
You could, for example, ask Siri to find a specific photo based on a description, crop it, apply filters, or write a calendar-based message in Mail. The goal is to make Siri more intuitive and helpful across daily tasks.
Full AI Chatbot “Campos” to Debut at WWDC 2026
The February update is just the beginning. Apple has a larger vision to evolve Siri into a full-fledged AI chatbot experience. Internally codenamed Campos, this next-generation assistant will replace the current Siri interface and offer both voice and typing modes. Campos is expected to be revealed at WWDC 2026, alongside iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27.
Campos will:
- Support back-and-forth conversations like ChatGPT or Gemini.
- Suggest contextual actions by analyzing open windows and on-screen content.
- Be deeply embedded in Apple’s operating systems.
- Potentially run some features on Google’s cloud for better performance.
There are even reports of Apple testing Campos as a standalone app, similar to current App Store chatbot offerings.
A Billion-Dollar Bet on AI
Apple is reportedly paying Google around $1 billion annually to use the Gemini models. This partnership is seen as crucial to enhancing the broader Apple Intelligence ecosystem. The company is aiming to reassert its innovation edge as consumer interest in generative AI continues to grow.
Market reactions have already reflected optimism. Following reports of the upcoming Siri update, Apple’s stock rose by 1.7%, while Alphabet (Google’s parent company) saw a 2.6% gain.
SQ Magazine Takeaway
Honestly, it’s about time. Siri had started to feel like the forgotten voice assistant while ChatGPT, Gemini, and even Samsung’s AI made big leaps. What excites me here is not just the Google partnership, but the fact that Apple seems ready to go all in on making Siri actually useful again. If Campos lives up to the hype, Siri could finally stop being the punchline and start becoming the productivity tool we always wanted.
