At a critical juncture where AI is reshaping operating systems, every move made by Apple has been closely watched by Silicon Valley. According to the latest reports, AI startup giant Anthropic had engaged deeply with Apple, aiming to completely restructure Siri by leveraging its powerful large language model.

A Missed Opportunity Worth Billions

Anthropic previously proposed an ambitious multi-year cooperation agreement to Apple, involving annual fees amounting to billions of dollars. However, this negotiation, aimed at fundamentally transforming Siri, hit a deadlock in the summer of last year and ultimately stalled due to an inability to reach an agreement on the terms of collaboration.

The Three-way Battle: Why Google?

In the race to reshape Siri, Apple has always been weighing multiple options:

Google's Rise: Apple eventually chose Google's Gemini model. The decision was not only because Gemini demonstrated a significant performance improvement but also because Google was willing to accept Apple's proposed financial cooperation framework.

OpenAI's Role Shift: Although Apple had considered continuing its early partnership with OpenAI, OpenAI's current role has been positioned as a "backup specialist" - mainly responsible for answering complex queries for Siri.

Topic Tracking: Apple's Long Journey in AI

Apple's strategy in the AI field has not been achieved overnight. Looking back at the recent developments over the past six months, we can clearly see the shifts in its strategy:

August 2025: Apple had attempted to integrate Anthropic's Claude Sonnet4 into the Xcode development environment, showing that the two sides had once had good technical compatibility.

November 2025: Signs of Google's Gemini victory emerged, and it was reported that it would officially power the new version of Siri in 2026.

January 2026: Details of the breakdown in negotiations between Anthropic and Apple were finally revealed, marking the end of this AI "courtship."

As the plan for the 2026 Siri upgrade progresses, Google's technological support will become the core pillar of Apple's AI strategy.