Apple's plan to overhaul Siri in iOS 26.4 seems more tangible than ever due to recent developments in the AI market. Reports of a collaboration with Google had already piqued interest, but only after the launch of Gemini 3 has it become clear how far-reaching this move could be. The progress Google has made in a short time sheds new light on what Apple intends to do with Siri.
Gemini 3 recently became the focus of the AI scene. The reactions were significant and made it clear that a new level had been reached. This progress directly influences expectations of Apple. With iOS 26.4, it appears that Siri is on the verge of a fundamental transformation.
Gemini 3 causes strong reactions
Gemini 3 was launched by Google with great success. Anyone who has followed the news will be familiar with the many positive reactions. The Verge compiled some of the most striking responses. The model outperformed OpenAI and other competitors in a number of benchmarks and topped the LMArena lists. LMArena rates AI models similarly to music charts, thus clearly indicating how highly the model is regarded.
Wei Lin Chiang, co-founder and CTO of LMArena, spoke of a clear advantage in professional tasks such as coding, matching, and creative writing. He particularly highlighted the agent-based coding capabilities, which in many cases surpassed the level of Claude 4.5 and GPT 5.1. Gemini 3 also took first place in visual comprehension, becoming the first model to exceed the approximately 1500-point mark in the platform's text ranking.
The ARC AGI 2 benchmark for logical reasoning revealed another significant leap. Gemini 3 scored almost twice as high as GPT 5 Pro while incurring only one-tenth the cost per task. This combination of performance and efficiency was particularly emphasized by industry observers.
Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, also shared his impressions publicly. He described the switch from three years of daily ChatGPT use to just two hours with Gemini 3 as so compelling that he doesn't want to go back. His observations regarding inference, speed, and working with images and videos reflect the general sentiment. For many, it feels like another game-changer in the AI landscape.
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Why Gemini 3 is good news for Apple
This strong result comes at just the right time for Apple. Several reports indicate that Apple and Google are collaborating to enable the upcoming Siri upgrades in iOS 26.4. Even if Apple is unlikely to openly communicate this cooperation and data privacy remains unchanged, it demonstrates how crucial Google's technology is to the project.
The new Siri solution differs significantly from the current ChatGPT integration. It is not an optional add-on. Instead, the core of Siri will receive an upgrade based on a model developed by Google with 1.2 trillion parameters. This model is among the most powerful on the market.
The exact details of its development are unknown. However, it's likely that work on Gemini 3 played a direct role. The progress Google is demonstrating with Gemini 3 clearly shows the quality of the model that will power Siri in the future.
This is particularly important for Apple, as fulfilling existing Siri promises is one of its key objectives for 2026. The combination of Apple's focus on data privacy and Google's technological strength could finally make Siri a reliably powerful assistant.
A sense of optimism is being fostered by Gemini 3 and Apple's AI strategy.
Gemini 3 demonstrates how rapidly AI is evolving. This gives Apple a clear advantage, as the new Siri will benefit from this very dynamic. The more evident Google's results become, the more realistic the idea seems that iOS 26.4 will offer a significantly more intelligent Siri experience.
The partnership between Apple and Google seems less like a pragmatic compromise and more like a deliberate step to finally bring Siri up to date. The progress made with Gemini 3 leaves little doubt that Apple has made the right decision. The best products for you: Our Amazon storefront offers a wide selection of accessories, including those for HomeKit. (Image: Shutterstock / JA Dunbar)
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