Google also confirms smarter Siri will arrive this year making iOS 27 ‘the one’

At the beginning of this year, Apple and Google came together to bring AI upgrades to Siri, something Apple on its own had failed to achieve. The Cupertino giant missed multiple deadlines to deliver on its promise of a smarter and more capable voice assistant, and has not shared an exact date since. Now, with Google's announcement, the “later this year” timeline seems more certain.

During the Google Cloud Next 2026 keynote, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian spoke about the partnership (around the 28-minute mark) and said, “We're collaborating with Apple as their preferred cloud provider to develop the next generation of Apple Foundation Models based on Gemini technology. These models will now power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming later this year.”

While this doesn’t confirm an exact release window, Apple is expected to unveil iOS 27 in June and then release the new OS with its iPhone 18 lineup in September. Even though this would be the ideal time to bring the Siri overhaul that was promised last year, Apple could still push some of the features to the end of the year. That being said, some of the improved capabilities should still make their way to users by September, if not earlier.

It’s understandable that Apple is hesitant to share a more precise release window this time, but Google is confident that its Gemini models are capable of delivering the “Apple Intelligence” that the Cupertino company desires. Speculations have suggested that iOS 27 will be one that brings the new and improved Siri with features like chained tasks, follow-up requests, natural language, automations by voice commands, and deeper system integration, and it looks even more likely now.