Apple Preps February Siri Update to Boost AI Capabilities

Apple appears ready to reset its artificial intelligence narrative, and Siri is where that reset begins.

According to reports, Apple is preparing to release a significantly upgraded version of Siri in the second half of February, powered by Google’s Gemini AI models. The update, expected as part of iOS 26.4, marks Apple’s most concrete step yet to address criticism that it has fallen behind rivals in the fast-moving AI race.

Rather than building everything in-house, Apple is leaning on Google’s AI stack, an acknowledgement that speed and execution now matter more than ideological purity.

Siri’s New Role: From Assistant to Interface

The upcoming update is expected to move Siri closer to a conversational, task-orientated experience. One of the headline features is “World Knowledge Answers”, which will provide web-summarised responses with citations, positioning Siri alongside tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity in how users search for and consume information.

More importantly, Siri is set to embed itself deeper into Apple’s ecosystem. Integration is expected across core apps such as Mail, Photos, Music, Podcasts, TV, and Xcode, allowing users to trigger actions using natural language rather than navigating menus.

In practical terms, that could mean asking Siri to locate and edit a photo based on a spoken description or drafting an email tied to calendar events, use cases Apple has discussed before but struggled to deliver consistently.

Private Cloud, Public Pressure

Under the hood, the update is expected to run on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute infrastructure, using high-end Mac chips for processing. This approach allows Apple to balance advanced AI capabilities with its long-standing emphasis on privacy and on-device control.

The strategy also reflects mounting pressure. Investor reaction to the reports was swift, with Apple shares rising following news of the Gemini-powered update, while Alphabet stock also gained, underscoring how closely markets are tracking AI execution.

Apple is reportedly paying Google around $1 billion annually to access Gemini models, signalling that this is not a short-term experiment but a material partnership.

A Bridge to Something Bigger

While the February update represents a meaningful step, it is not Apple’s endgame.

Reports suggest Apple is already working on a more comprehensive AI overhaul centred on a chatbot internally dubbed “Campos”. Unlike Siri’s incremental evolution, Campos is expected to function as a full AI interface embedded deeply across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

Campos is designed to analyse on-screen content, understand open apps and windows, and suggest actions, pushing Apple closer to agent-like AI behaviour rather than reactive assistance. Voice and typing modes are both expected, along with deeper system-level control.

That larger vision is expected to surface later in 2026, with an unveiling likely around Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference and a broader rollout in the fall.

Apple’s reliance on Gemini highlights a broader shift in the AI landscape. Even platform giants are increasingly willing to partner, rather than build everything themselves, to remain competitive.

For Apple, the risk is reputational as much as technical. “Apple Intelligence” has so far received a muted response, raising questions about whether the company could translate its ecosystem advantage into meaningful AI differentiation.

The February Siri update will be closely watched, not just for features, but for whether Apple can finally align AI ambition with execution.

If successful, it could reposition Siri from a long-mocked assistant into a central interface for how users interact with Apple devices. If not, it reinforces the perception that Apple is still searching for its AI footing in a market that is moving faster than ever.

Either way, Apple’s Gemini-powered Siri marks a turning point: a public admission that the AI race has changed and that catching up requires collaboration, not just control.