Gemini Intelligence Announcement Hopes to Steal Siri’s Thunder

Gemini Intelligence was announced just a month before Apple Intelligence’s big moment at WWDC, but I have my doubts about whether either company can deliver on its AI promises.

Google announced its new suite of AI features under the Gemini Intelligence banner during a streaming event on May 12, 2026. That’s less than a month before Apple’s WWDC 2026 event kicks off on June 8.

This is surely not a coincidence.

Gemini Intelligence promises a lot of things, some similar to what Apple promised iPhone owners almost two years ago. Apple has yet to produce the custom Apple Intelligence features revealed at WWDC 2024.

This brings us back to Gemini Intelligence and Google’s claims that its rollout would begin this summer. The similarities to Apple Intelligence are clear, but with Google’s lead in AI, it’s high time it started delivering on its promises.

For iPhone users looking over the fence, Gemini Intelligence looks compelling. There’s a lot to like, but it’s impossible not to look at it and wonder where Apple Intelligence is now and why Google chose to announce it now.

Gemini Intelligence gets personal

Announced during the Android Show, it’s no surprise that Google used its Pixel phones to show off Gemini Intelligence. Pixels are Google’s answer to the iPhone, giving it more direct control over everything.

At its core, Gemini Intelligence actually consists of five distinct features. All are using AI to try to change the way people use their phones, from the mundane to the futuristic.

Starting with the most mundane, Gemini Intelligence promises to make finding things on the web easier. Chrome will use Gemini to summarize and compare content from different sources, while an automatic navigation feature will make appointments and perform other similar tasks.

Android will also make filling out forms simpler. Using Gemini’s personal intelligence, Android will be able to fill in details in text boxes so users don’t have to type them in themselves. Think of it as AI-powered autofill.

The next feature, Rambler, will allow users to speak to their Android phone and turn what they said into clear, concise text. Google is already pretty good at speech recognition and transcription, so it’s no surprise that Gemini Intelligence builds on that.

In the demos, Google used a text message scenario to show what the new feature can do. Built into the Gboard keyboard, users press a button and simply speak as if they were having a conversation.

Next, Gboard removes all the “ums,” “ahs,” and “likes,” as well as any repetitions or tangents. The result is something that looks more like a message you would type, but without the typing.

One Gemini Intelligence feature that Apple should definitely borrow is the ability to create custom widgets. Dubbed “Create My Widget,” the feature can create an entire widget based on what the user wants it to display.

Examples include creating a widget that only displays wind speed and whether it will rain, rather than a full forecast. Another imagines someone creating a new widget that displays a new list of meal options each week.

Finally, we come to the futuristic feature, and the one that Google took the lead with when unveiling Gemini Intelligence. And it’s the kind of feature that has the potential to be useful, albeit in limited situations.

This feature is cross-app automation, with Gemini handling tedious tasks so the user doesn’t have to. Geminis might book a spinning class or arrange a trip through Expedia, for example.

Another example Google gave was a shopping list in a notes app. Once the list opens, an Android user will be able to press and hold the power button and tell Gemini to get to work. It will create a shopping cart with all the items listed, Google says.

Gemini Intelligence promises a lot. But like Apple Intelligence, the question remains whether anyone will actually use these features in the real world.

Limited availability

Google doesn’t have the luxury of designing features for a single device. While Apple may focus on the iPhone, Google has to consider dozens of different models in all kinds of form factors.

This is why, at launch, Gemini Intelligence will be limited to the latest Pixel and Samsung Galaxy devices. If you’re using a Motorola phone, for example, all bets are off.

As for timelines, Google says the various Gemini Intelligence features will begin rolling out to devices this summer. After that, it will start appearing on watches, cars, laptops and even glasses. But details are still scarce on which one.

Making headlines or changing the game?

As I mentioned earlier, Google chose the month before WWDC to announce Gemini Intelligence. I suspect it wanted to introduce its AI features to people before Apple introduced its own AI upgrades.

Of course, those interested in technology outside of Apple know that Google’s tech conferences always take place before WWDC. Whether or not this was intentional to grab headlines ahead of Apple’s annual developer conference remains to be seen.

All of the recently announced features make for great demos, but Google’s story raises real questions about whether they’ll still be around in a few years.

It’s easy to wonder if Google’s new features were designed to capitalize on AI buzz or if they were actually used. And you only need to look at your own history to understand why.

Over the years, Google has announced various attempts at personal and proactive AI features. But they are not all still there today.

If we go back to 2012, we find Google Now. This was a feature of the Google app and was supposed to proactively provide information before it was needed. There was even iPhone support.

Google Now was even available on iPhone and iPad

Google Now would use pop-up cards displaying information when it would be most useful. Think about flight information and travel times, for example.

Four years later, Google Now was dead, replaced by Google Assistant. Users found it too intrusive, offering irrelevant information.

2018 saw the splashy unveiling of Google Duplex, an AI that would make phone calls for people. Users would tell Duplex what they needed, and it would make the call, using an AI voice to complete the task.

But this feature was fraught with problems. He couldn’t reliably handle how conversations could change course. Then there are legal and privacy issues.

People who answered the AI’s calls would have to be notified, and there were questions about whether they would simply hang up. Ultimately, Google Duplex on the web was removed in 2022 and Duplex technology was integrated into other Gemini features.

There are other examples as well. But it’s worth pointing out two features that have remained present. And Apple even copied them for Apple Intelligence.

Hold for Me and Call Screen are two features available on Pixel phones today. The first waits for you in a queue, while the second filters calls so you can avoid those you don’t need to answer.

Some advanced Google features stand the test of time, others don’t. We will have to wait and see how Gemini Intelligence performs.

Apple Intelligence is the next step

Apple will unveil its new iPhone software during the WWDC 2026 opening broadcast on June 8. And with it, we expect Apple to share what’s next for Apple Intelligence.

Much of what this will entail will likely be features we’ve already seen, but Apple hasn’t delivered yet. A new, more personal Siri is expected.

It was first promised for iOS 18 in 2024 and has yet to launch. This delay even gave rise to legal proceedings and the settlement of a class action.

WWDC 2026 could finally see Siri get a much-needed upgrade

If the new Siri can do everything previously announced, it will have automation capabilities similar to Gemini Intelligence. Siri will be able to work with and between apps while understanding context and what’s on the screen.

Siri is also expected to have a new chatbot-style interface. Apple Intelligence will also likely expand to new photo editing features, while Safari will use it to automatically group tabs.

One thing Apple and Google have in common

But both Apple and Google’s roadmaps are subject to the same credibility test. And these Apple Intelligence changes have a familiar feeling, which can be felt with Google’s Gemini Intelligence announcements.

It’s a hard feeling to shake: Apple Intelligence is about to gain new features that few people will ever use.

Even if Apple Intelligence and Gemini Intelligence can do everything they claim and more, they will still have the same fundamental problem. Both will offer features that will demonstrate well and wow users the first time they use them.

Then, six months later, many users won’t even remember they existed.