Well we don’t think many expected this to happen on their Monday morning bingo cards. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman on late Sunday, Apple is in talks with Google to integrate the latter’s Gemini AI into the iPhone, according to unnamed sources.
The potential agreement would allow Apple to license Gemini, Google’s advanced set of generative AI models, enhancing upcoming iPhone software features. Gemini, previously known as Bard, only debuted in Canada back in February.
Apple and Google have long had a search partnership where the latter’s search engine is the default on Safari. Google has been paying billions to Apple for this exclusive access to over 2 billion iPhones.
While Apple has been developing its own AI tech, including a large language model named “Ajax” and a basic “Apple GPT” chatbot, it seems having Gemini on the iPhone may fast-track generative AI features for users.
Sources tell Gurman Apple has also had talks with OpenAI over a possible deal to integrate its ChatGPT, with the latter backed by Microsoft.
Apple has been hypocritical in its message to iPhone users. While CEO Tim Cook has lambasted Google over the latter’s privacy record, Apple still accepts billions from its rival for its search engine access. Apple has long touted iPhone privacy as a core feature—but with Gemini possibly coming to its smartphones, that would let Google have access to any chatbot searches and queries from customers.
Apple is expected to announce new AI features for its operation systems including iOS 18 at WWDC. Siri needs to get smarter as it is falling far behind compared to generative AI chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini.
