Apple’s new “Linwood” Siri will use Google’s 1.2 trillion parameter Gemini model as its primary “summariser” and “planner.” This “behind-the-scenes” integration is part of a $1 billion-a-year deal, a major victory for Google.
This partnership is an “interim solution” for Apple’s “Glenwood” project, the internal effort to fix Siri. Google’s “ultrapowerful” AI was chosen after it won a “bake-off” against rivals OpenAI and Anthropic.
The new Siri will be a hybrid system. It will use Google’s AI for complex, multi-step tasks that are far beyond the capabilities of Apple’s current 150-billion parameter models.
This is a reluctant admission of Apple’s AI lag, with top executives Craig Federighi and Mike Rockwell overseeing the integration. Apple is pushing its teams to build a 1T+ model replacement, but it’s a difficult task.
The deal’s key feature is privacy. The Gemini model will run on Apple’s “walled-off” Private Cloud Compute servers, not Google’s. This ensures Google gets its $1B fee but no access to user data.
Google’s 1.2T Gemini Model: The New ‘Summariser’ for Siri
