Apple Overhauls Siri With Google AI After Secret Meeting Exposes Deepening Crisis
Summary
Apple strikes a secret deal with Google to power a rebuilt Siri using Gemini AI after a crisis meeting reveals Apple Intelligence has badly fallen behind rivals, with a chatbot-style Siri overhaul set to debut at WWDC 2026 as Tim Cook's final major bet before handing the CEO role to John Ternus.
Key Points
- Apple held a secret executive meeting in early 2025 where top leaders, excluding CEO Tim Cook, confronted the company's growing AI crisis, acknowledging that Apple Intelligence has flopped and that rivals like Google, Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic are rapidly pulling ahead.
- Mike Rockwell, fresh off leading the Vision Pro headset, volunteers to fix Siri and ultimately takes charge of the assistant under software chief Craig Federighi, while former AI head John Giannandrea is stripped of his portfolio and departs, and a deal is struck with Google to power Siri using Gemini and Google Cloud technology.
- Apple is set to unveil a dramatically overhauled, chatbot-like Siri at WWDC 2026, marking a pivotal moment in Tim Cook's final stretch as CEO before handing the reins to John Ternus, with the company's broader AI ambitions — including smart glasses, camera-equipped AirPods, and home devices — hinging on whether this AI reset succeeds.