When it launched, Apple Intelligence was underwhelming. Fortunately, you could easily turn it off, so it didn't matter too much.
One of the biggest disappointments was that Apple's promised updates to deliver a more personalised Siri just never arrived.
Well, today Apple announced that it's going to be working with Google to deliver the next round of improvements to Apple Intelligence, including the long-awaited Siri improvements.
There's not a huge amount of detail in the joint announcement from the companies, other than Apple will continue to offer Apple Intelligence exclusively on Apple devices, and it will continue to use the Private Cloud Compute platform.
But it also indicates that if Apple was attempting to create its own LLM to power Siri, it couldn't get it to a standard it felt was good enough to ship.
Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google's Gemini models and cloud technology. These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming this year.
After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google's Al technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users. Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple's industry-leading privacy standards.
Personally, I feel like this is Apple hedging its bets against the AI bubble bursting. Tim Cook's men haven't raced towards the ceaseless AI marketing-speak with the same fervour as pretty much every other technology company in the world, so part of me thinks Apple is sceptical about the technology's long-term viability.
That said, AI is pretty much ubiquitous now, so not having any AI offering is not going to keep shareholders happy. So a slow launch and a partnership with Google is probably the best way forward.
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