Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple will be trying to make greater use of Google Gemini than even its maker is, by how it employs this AI within iOS and Private Cloud Compute.

Apple confirmed in January 2026 that it will be using Google Gemini in its updating of Siri, and Google itself has made much of this. Now analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Apple has an opportunity to deliver more with Apple Intelligence using Gemini on-device and through iCloud Private Compute, than the standalone AI platform can do.

Kuo is speculating, and in this case he is particularly focused on the impact to investors of what Apple is able to do. But he argues that over the long term, Apple should be a good bet for investors because of this ability to leverage Gemini across all of Apple Intelligence's features.

"The key takeaway from WWDC26 will not be the short-term share-price reaction after the event," he writes. "It will be whether Apple, using the same Gemini, can deliver better AI applications, agentic workflows, and on-device & cloud hybrid experiences than Google.

It's because of this possibility that Kuo believes the general consensus is that Apple may have been behind on AI, but will come out the winner. However, he also says that if Apple is not able to do this, it will mean that Google Gemini "sets the ceiling for Apple's AI experience."

If Apple cannot do more with Gemini to make it a uniquely beneficial feature of its whole ecosystem, iPadOS, and macOS, then he believes Apple will lose out. "The 'Apple will ultimately come out ahead' narrative would start to face growing scrutiny," he concludes.

Gemini is not taking over

Users will not see Google Gemini on their iPhones, iPads, or Macs, after WWDC's updates are made public. It is not that Apple has replaced Siri with Gemini, nor that Google will now get to train its service on users' data.

Instead, Apple is licensing a Google Gemini model to help improve its own Apple Foundation Models. So Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple's own models, but those models will now be better.

This also means that the improved Siri will be here sooner than it might have been, since in June 2025, Apple admitted to having problems. The deal means Apple being able to build on the existing Gemini.

Gemini itself will not be running on-device and there will be no passing of user data back to Google. What there will be is a reported $1 billion annual fee from Apple to pay Google for this deal.

So presumably if anyone outside of Apple knows what the company's aims are with Gemini, it's Google. Separately, Google attempted to steal some thunder from Apple by making promises for the future of its own Gemini Intelligence in May 2026.