- A new report says that the more personalized Siri will launch with iOS 26.4
- This upgraded Siri will use basic models built on Gemini
- It comes just days after Apple confirmed a partnership with Google
Just nine days after Apple teamed up with Google to use Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology to base its next-generation Apple Foundation models, it looks like the AI-powered Siri that the Cupertino-based giant first promised us all back in 2024 could be coming far sooner than any of us thought.
According to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the rumor mill is doubling down on the rollout of the AI-powered Siri to be released in the spring of 2026 — now writing that it’s “scheduled for iOS 26.4,” which is likely to arrive in the coming weeks or months. Right now, Apple is rolling out iOS 26.3 to registered developers and people enrolled in the public beta program.
The report notes that iOS 26.4 will deliver on the promised features that Apple first teased at WWDC 2024 as part of Apple Intelligence — things like Siri having a deeper personal understanding of you, based on what it can see on your screen, and being much smarter. This means it could also pull up current information in a snap, making for a much more impactful and meaningful user experience.
Even more important is the timing here – this report, which comes alongside a rumor that Apple will launch an AI chatbot with iOS 27, one that competes directly with Google Gemini and ChatGPT, notes that this updated Siri likely wouldn’t be possible without the partnership with Google for the basic base.
The iOS 26.4 version of the AI-powered Siri “will rely on a Google-developed system known internally as Apple Foundation Model’s version 10,” the report reads, before noting that it operates with 1.2 trillion parameters.
Clearly, having access to Gemini models to build and stand on top of Apple’s own base models has sped things up and could mean that Apple will be able to deliver on the smarter, more personal Siri it’s been promising for a long time, much sooner rather than later.
As for when iOS 26.4 will arrive, it will likely be in the spring, after the start of March and before the end of May. This means it will likely arrive before WWDC 2026, which is expected in June.
Of course, Apple could save this news for a bit of consumer buzz at WWDC and ship 26.4 to all users with an Apple Intelligence-capable device, and thus access to the new Siri, right after the keynote wraps up.
That would be a surprise and delight, but it would also push aside the usual public beta and developer testing periods. Either way, with Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude all pushing what we’ve come to expect from AI tools, and many of them becoming more personal, we’ll have to wait and see if Apple’s smarter Siri is actually worth the wait, and how it prepares us for the other big rumor: a Siri chatbot inside iOS 27.
Time will tell, but Siri’s big upgrade is still a long way off.
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