Apple is using Google Gemini to distill smaller Siri models, with iOS 27's intelligent assistant undergoing a major rewrite.

Tech Media The Information Reveals Insider Details of Apple and Google’s AI Collaboration: Google Grants Apple “Full Access” to the Gemini Model. Apple Can Directly Call Gemini to Provide Siri Responses and Use “Distillation” Technology to Train Smaller, On-Device AI Models Using Gemini’s Outputs, Operable Offline.

Distillation Technology: Training Small Models Using Large Model Reasoning Processes

Model Distillation works by having a large “teacher model” (Gemini) perform a series of tasks, producing high-quality results and detailed reasoning logs. These “answers + reasoning paths” are then fed into a smaller “student model” for training, enabling the small model to learn Gemini’s internal computation logic.

As a result: Apple can develop small models that perform close to Gemini but require much less computation, suitable for deployment on phones to achieve low latency and protect privacy through on-device AI processing.

Wharton Professor Ethan Mollick: Distilled Models Struggle to Support True AI Agents

AI researcher Ethan Mollick is cautious, stating, “I’m not sure if distilling Gemini into a model that runs on a phone can produce a truly general AI agent as people expect.” Several engineers also discussed that distillation only solves the model size issue, but AI agents require reliable tools, persistent states, and complex reasoning—capabilities often significantly diminished during compression.

Limitations of Gemini and Parallel Development of Apple’s Own Models

The Information also reports that Apple faced a challenge in integrating Gemini: Gemini is mainly fine-tuned for chatbot and programming scenarios, which do not fully meet Apple’s needs. While Apple has customized Gemini, there are still certain limitations.

Notably, Apple’s Foundation Models team is actively developing its own AI models completely independent of Gemini. In other words, Gemini is more of a “transitional bridge” for Apple rather than a long-term core solution.

iOS 27 Siri: A Complete Chatbot Upgrade

According to available information, the new Siri in iOS 27 will feature chatbot-level question-and-answer capabilities, including answering questions, summarizing documents, storytelling, providing emotional support, and booking travel. This is the most significant upgrade since Siri’s launch in 2011 and is a key battleground for Apple to compete with ChatGPT and Gemini in the AI assistant market.

This article reports that Apple is distilling Google Gemini to create a smaller Siri model, marking a major rewrite of the iOS 27 intelligent assistant, first published on ABMedia.