Does Apple’s new deal mean you have to dump your iPhone if you don’t like Google?
Apple struggled for years to turn Apple Intelligence into a viable AI product, and up until now, the company has largely failed. After missed launch deadlines, feature delays, and even lawsuits alleging false advertisement, it was starting to look like Apple Intelligence would be a total dud. Apple thought so too, so the company is officially partnering with Google to make Siri great again, but mounting issues around user privacy and data collection might just be enough to make you want to ditch your iPhone.
This isn’t the first time Apple has enlisted the help of its Big Tech friends.
Siri will be powered by Google
According to a story published in mid-January, Apple has put a hold on building its own in-house models of an AI-powered Siri, at least for now. Instead, the company has partnered with Google on a total refresh that runs on a custom version of Gemini 3 in a deal that’s worth an estimated $5 billion.
The partnership is a huge admission of failure from Apple, as the team has worked on Apple Intelligence for years with little to show for it. Although the team made internal progress, the upgraded Siri was nearly scrapped and rebuilt from scratch at least once since it was unveiled at WWDC 2024. As time rolled on and whispers of development issues plagued the Siri team, rumors started to float around that Apple might tap Google for some much-needed help, and now those rumors have come true.
While Gemini will provide the AI backbone for the new version of Siri that is set to launch this spring, Apple is reportedly not giving up on building its own large language models. This partnership is simply a stopgap option while the company sorts out its internal services for a future release down the road.
Apple trades user privacy for a smarter Siri
This isn’t the first time Apple has enlisted the help of its Big Tech friends on AI. Parts of Apple Intelligence today leverage ChatGPT for bigger queries that are too complex to be processed on device. Instead, these broader queries are sent to OpenAI through Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, an AI server stack powered by Apple hardware that provides a bridge between Apple users and ChatGPT’s servers to anonymize data and protect user privacy.
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At first, it was believed that the new Siri powered by Gemini would use this same structure; however, emerging reports suggest otherwise. Gemini 3 requires more powerful hardware than Apple’s Private Cloud Compute offers today. To ensure that the new Siri runs well on Apple products, queries for the rebooted version on iOS 27, coming later this fall, will run directly on Google’s servers instead. That means Google can access, save, and track any data you feed to Siri once the new version is available, all so Apple can finally turn Apple Intelligence into something people might want to use.
Even worse, while Google claims not to leverage personal data to train AI, recent support documents on Gemini Personal Intelligence state otherwise. The article explicitly highlights that your data can be “used to do things for you, like look up your info or add items to your grocery list, and to improve Google services, including training generative AI.”
Google also has its own version of Private Cloud Compute called Private AI Compute that is meant to protect user data and privacy, so the information you feed into the Googlified Siri should be safe, right? Only if you trust the fox to guard the henhouse. It’s no secret that Google’s entire business model revolves around gobbling up consumer data to sell ads, improve its services, and more. Even if your queries are anonymized, they can still be used to grow the big Google machine.
How to disable Apple Intelligence
If you hate the idea of Google gathering, tracking, and monetizing your data through the new Siri, you might be wondering if it’s time to dump your iPhone for something else.
The short answer is “no.” Aside from an iPhone, the only other smartphone alternatives all run Android, which is even more closely tied to Google, Gemini, and their suite of data-gobbling apps. What you can do, though, is opt out of Apple Intelligence entirely.
To disable Apple Intelligence:
Open up the Settings app on your iPhone.Tap on “Apple Intelligence & Siri.”Uncheck the “Apple Intelligence” toggle at the top of the page, and you’re done.
Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw
Note that this will leave you with a dumber version of Siri, but at least you can be certain that none of your data is shipped off to a Google server somewhere for reasons unknown.
While Siri is said to be getting its first refresh this March or April with Apple Private Cloud Compute in tow, the even more advanced version that runs directly on Google’s servers is coming later this fall. Blaze Media will likely have more coverage on the rollout when iOS 27 launches in September or October. Until then, your Siri queries are safe from Google’s prying eyes, at least for a little while longer.
Tech