Tim Cook just 'confirmed' Android is cool

You may have heard that Elon Musk isn’t happy about Google and Apple recently signing a multi-year agreement. But what exactly does he oppose? What are Apple and Google cooking up, and what could it mean for iPhone users, and even Samsung?

In short, Apple and Google issued a joint statement two days ago confirming that the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google Gemini models and cloud technology. In other words, Apple’s AI, including Siri, will be powered by Google tech.

Apple is rather late to the AI game, and something had to change if the company wanted to remain competitive in this emerging market. The iPhone maker says that, after careful evaluation, it concluded Google’s AI technology provides the strongest foundation for Apple Foundation Models.

That said, Apple insists that “Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading privacy standards.”

Regardless, Apple sort of admitted in a roundabout way that Google's AI platform, and in turn Android, is pretty awesome when it comes to generative AI.

Similarly, some of Samsung’s Galaxy AI features, such as Now Brief, rely on Google technology, but user data is stored and processed on-device through the Personal Data Engine.

Other Galaxy AI tools are more limited if users choose on-device processing only, so it remains to be seen how Apple will handle user data overall, and how much of it will actually be processed on-device versus in the cloud.

Either way, Apple should finally begin delivering on its AI promises and could start becoming genuinely competitive, even against Samsung, which has enjoyed a generous head start in the AI race.

An upgraded Siri powered by Google technology is expected to be announced later this year. Still, time will tell just how many new Google AI-driven features Apple may introduce by the end of 2026. The competition is heating up, and Samsung may also have to step up its AI game.