Apple's Siri reborn as AI companion, powered by Google Gemini
Apple has rebuilt Siri into a conversational assistant leaning on Google's Gemini, unveiled at Tim Cook's final WWDC. The bigger question: when does it reach India?
The News
Apple used the opening day of WWDC 2026 on Monday, 8 June, to unveil the long-promised rebuild of Siri, recasting the assistant as a full conversational companion rather than a command-and-control voice tool. The new Siri can hold a back-and-forth conversation, read what is on your screen, pull live answers from the web, and surface results as text cards rather than reciting them aloud.
The headline detail sits underneath the polish: the revamped Siri is powered by Google's Gemini models, an arrangement that has Apple renting outside intelligence rather than shipping its own frontier model. Apple framed the data handling as privacy-first, saying user data is only used to execute a given request.
Features shown on stage included a Write with Siri tool that drafts emails and messages in a style tuned to specific contacts, drawing on your mail, calendar and contacts. On iPhone the assistant now lives in the Dynamic Island, on Mac it folds into Spotlight, and on Apple Watch it can field questions and run actions. There is a new voice with adjustable pace and expressivity, and Apple said the overhaul arrives as a beta later in 2026.
The timing carries extra weight. This was Tim Cook's final WWDC as chief executive, with hardware chief John Ternus due to take over on 1 September 2026.
Why It Matters
For years Siri was the punchline of the assistant wars while ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini redrew expectations of what a digital helper should do. By licensing Gemini, Apple has chosen reach over pride, a pragmatic bet that mirrors how Microsoft leaned on OpenAI to leapfrog into the assistant race rather than waiting to build everything in-house.
The move also reshapes the competitive map. Apple controls the device and the customer relationship; Google supplies the brains. That dependency is a strength for speed and a liability for leverage, and rivals will watch how the revenue and data terms settle. Elsewhere the keynote leaned on software to carry ageing hardware: iOS 27 stretches back to the iPhone 11, with Apple claiming photos load 70 percent faster and AirDrop transfers run 80 percent quicker.
Indian Angle
India is now one of Apple's most important growth markets, both as a manufacturing base and as a retail story after the Mumbai and Delhi stores, so the question Indian users will ask first is blunt: when does a Gemini-powered Siri actually work here, and in which languages? Apple's assistant features have historically reached India late and with thin Indic-language support, and a beta later in 2026 offers no firm answer for Hindi, Tamil, Telugu or Bengali speakers.
The Gemini tie-up also lands in a market where homegrown ambition is loud. Sarvam and Krutrim are building Indic-first models on the bet that global assistants under-serve local languages and context. Apple borrowing Google's models, rather than partnering locally, leaves an opening for those firms to position themselves as the truly India-native layer for enterprises and government deployments.
There is a regulatory and payments wrinkle too. Apple's slicker on-device actions assume a payments and identity stack that, in India, runs through UPI and Aadhaar rather than Apple's own rails. Any assistant that reaches into transactions will sit under the gaze of the RBI and MeitY, and the data-handling claims made on stage will be tested against India's Digital Personal Data Protection rules before deep adoption follows.
FAQ
When will the new Siri be available?
Apple said the overhauled Siri arrives as a beta later in 2026. A precise public release date, and the order in which countries and languages get access, was not announced on stage.
Which model powers the new Siri?
The revamped Siri is powered by Google's Gemini models. Apple supplies the device experience and privacy framing while Google provides the underlying intelligence, an outsourcing arrangement rather than an in-house frontier model.
Will it support Indian languages?
Apple did not confirm Indic-language coverage at launch. Given the assistant's history of late and limited India support, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and other major languages remain an open question for the beta period.
What does this mean for Indian AI startups?
Apple leaning on Gemini, not a local partner, leaves room for Sarvam, Krutrim and peers to pitch themselves as the genuinely India-native model layer for enterprises and public-sector deployments needing deep Indic and regulatory fit.
This story was reported by TechCrunch. Read the full original coverage at TechCrunch.
Sources & Citations
Frequently Asked Questions
When will the new Siri be available?
Apple said the overhauled Siri arrives as a beta later in 2026. A precise public release date, and the order in which countries and languages get access, was not announced on stage.
Which model powers the new Siri?
The revamped Siri is powered by Google's Gemini models. Apple supplies the device experience and privacy framing while Google provides the underlying intelligence, an outsourcing arrangement rather than an in-house frontier model.
Will it support Indian languages?
Apple did not confirm Indic-language coverage at launch. Given the assistant's history of late and limited India support, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and other major languages remain an open question for the beta period.
What does this mean for Indian AI startups?
Apple leaning on Gemini, not a local partner, leaves room for Sarvam, Krutrim and peers to pitch themselves as the genuinely India-native model layer for enterprises and public-sector deployments needing deep Indic and regulatory fit.