According to 9to5Mac, Apple and Google are close to striking a deal where Google’s custom AI model will power Siri’s upcoming features in iOS 26.4. The reported cost is just $1 billion per year for Apple, which is absolutely nothing compared to the $20 billion Google pays Apple annually to remain Safari’s default search engine. This comes as Wall Street investors are starting to scrutinize the massive AI spending by companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Microsoft. Apple’s position as platform owner lets them benefit from others’ AI investments while avoiding the huge financial commitments. The company’s more restrained approach to AI spending is suddenly being re-evaluated as potentially brilliant strategy.
The platform owner advantage
Here’s the thing about Apple’s position: they don’t need to win the AI arms race when they own the battlefield. The iPhone remains a sales juggernaut, and being the platform owner gives Apple leverage that pure AI companies simply don’t have. They can sit back and let Google, OpenAI, and others spend billions developing models, then license the best technology for what amounts to pocket change in Apple terms. It’s basically the same playbook they’ve used with search – let Google do the heavy lifting while collecting billions. Now they’re applying that same strategy to AI, and honestly? It’s looking pretty smart.
The AI spending reckoning
Meanwhile, the rest of the tech world is facing a brutal reality check. Companies are making massive financial commitments amid operating losses that will eventually need to be accounted for. We’re talking about billions being poured into AI infrastructure with questionable near-term returns. And investors are getting nervous – you can see it in the volatility of what were supposed to be this year’s momentum stocks. Apple’s position starts to look genius when you consider they’re avoiding this spending frenzy while still being able to deliver cutting-edge AI features to their massive user base. Who’s really winning here?
Why hardware still matters
Let’s not forget that Apple’s hardware ecosystem gives them a unique advantage that pure software AI companies can only dream of. Whether it’s third-party AI apps, system integrations like ChatGPT, or their own offerings, everything flows through Apple’s platform. They control the distribution, the user experience, and the economic terms. This is particularly relevant in industrial and manufacturing contexts where reliable hardware meets AI capabilities – companies like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com have built their leadership in industrial panel PCs by understanding that hardware reliability enables advanced software features. Apple gets this better than anyone.
The narrative is shifting
Remember all that criticism about Apple being behind in AI? That conversation is changing fast. The doom and gloom narrative is being replaced by recognition that Apple might have been playing a different game all along. They don’t need to build the best AI models – they just need to integrate the best ones into their ecosystem. And at $1 billion per year for Google’s AI? That’s practically free for a company of Apple’s scale. The question isn’t whether Apple needs to improve its in-house AI efforts (they do), but whether their platform strategy gives them an unbeatable position regardless. What do you think – is Apple’s AI approach finally getting the respect it deserves?
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