According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple is considering partnering with Google in a mega deal to leverage Gemini AI models for iPhone features. This puts Google in an advantageous position since the company already has a deal with Apple to be its preferred search engine provider for the iPhone's Safari browser.
The publication cited people familiar with the matter as saying Apple is considering licensing Google's AI technology to introduce AI-powered features in an iOS update later this year. Additionally, the company has also discussed the possibility of using the GPT model with OpenAI, Bloomberg said.
Apple is under increasing pressure to keep up with its competitors in the AI space, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Anthropic, and even Google. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in February that the company would introduce Gen-AI capabilities “later this year.”
The company's job postings from last year suggest that Apple is working on multiple internal and external tools that leverage generative AI. But talk of leveraging third-party AI technology means Apple is not making as much progress as expected with its own AI efforts.
Apple's own model could enhance some of the on-device features in the upcoming iOS 18 software update. It will be announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which historically takes place in June. However, the company is considering partnering with external providers for generative AI use cases such as image creation and helping users write.
Google has its own problems with Gemini. The company had to suspend its image generation capabilities last month after its models produced historically inaccurate images. Later, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Gemini's response was “completely unacceptable.” Google announced last week that it was blocking election-related queries about Gemini around the world. However, TechCrunch discovered that users can get around these limitations by introducing typos in some queries.
Despite these fallbacks, Google has an advantage in launching smartphone-related features. Earlier this year, the company partnered with Samsung to bring its Gemini-powered AI capabilities to the Galaxy S24 series of devices. The search giant has also introduced these features to its Pixel series of phones.
We've reached out to Apple and Google for comment and will update the article if we hear back.