Apple is expected to unveil a new approach when it takes the stage at the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 8, and this will not include launching a ChatGPT killer or a Gemini rival.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company knows its artificial intelligence (AI) technology lags behind OpenAI, Google, Anthropic and others, and that the gap is not closing anytime soon. So rather than continuing to chase competitors who are pulling further ahead by the month, the company is reportedly changing the game it is playing.
‘Don’t win AI, win everything around it
Gurman, in his latest newsletter, says that Apple’s new approach is expected to be straightforward: Don’t build the best AI but the best products that AI runs on.
Apple’s software, like iMessage, has been designed to sell hardware, not generate revenue on its own. That philosophy is not changing but Apple will reportedly fill the gaps left by its own AI shortcomings.The plan has two parts. First, embed just enough AI into its operating systems to stop users from switching to Android, and, second, open Siri and Apple Intelligence to third-party AI services, letting outside companies bring their capabilities into the Apple ecosystem while Apple takes its customary cut.
The centrepiece of Apple’s WWDC announcement is expected to be a new feature called Extensions, arriving with iOS 27, Gurman said. This will allow users to install third-party AI chatbots and run them directly inside Siri. The feature will have its own dedicated section in the App Store, effectively creating a marketplace for AI integrations. Users will be able to choose which AI powers their experience, whether that is Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, or others yet to arrive, Gurman suggested.
Google Gemini deal will buy Apple some time
Running alongside the Extensions strategy is a separate effort to use Google’s Gemini technology to revamp Siri and other core Apple AI functions. In January, the two companies announced a multi-year collaboration, with the next generation of Apple’s Foundation Models set to be built on Gemini’s infrastructure.The deal allows Apple to offer an in-house AI experience that is capable without having to build that capability itself. According to a recent report by The Information, Apple has complete access to the Gemini model in its own data centre facilities, and it can use that access to produce smaller models. Moreover, this will also keep Apple’s non-negotiable privacy promise because all processing will continue to run on Apple devices and its Private Cloud Compute system, with user data staying off Google’s servers.
