According to reports from Bloomberg, there is talk of a potential mega-deal between two tech giants: Apple and Google. The collaboration would involve Apple licensing Google’s advanced AI technology, known as Gemini, to introduce new features for the iPhone. This move would put Google in a powerful position, as they already have a deal with Apple to be the preferred search engine provider for the Safari browser on iPhones.
Sources familiar with the matter have indicated that discussions are underway for Apple to integrate Google’s AI model into its iOS updates later this year. In addition to Google, Apple has also reportedly held talks with OpenAI to potentially use their GPT models.
The pressure is mounting on Apple to catch up with its competitors in the AI field, including OpenAI, Microsoft, Anthropic, and Google. In February, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook announced that the company would be introducing Gen-AI features “later this year.”
The company has been actively recruiting for AI-related positions, indicating their focus on developing internal and external tools powered by generative AI. However, the talks of partnering with a third-party for AI technology suggest that Apple’s own efforts in this area may not have progressed as expected.
It is expected that some of the AI features on the upcoming iOS 18 software update, typically announced at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June, will be powered by Apple’s own models. However, the company is reportedly exploring the use of external AI technology for features such as image creation and assisting with writing.
In recent news, Google has faced its own challenges with Gemini. Last month, the company had to pause its image-generation feature after the model created images with historical inaccuracies. Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai even deemed these responses from Gemini as “completely unacceptable.” As a result, last week, Google announced that they are blocking election-related queries on Gemini worldwide. However, it was found that this restriction could be circumvented by using typos in certain queries.
Despite these setbacks, Google still maintains an advantage in launching AI features for smartphones. Earlier this year, they partnered with Samsung to introduce Gemini-powered AI features on the Galaxy S24 series of devices. They have also launched these features on their own Pixel series of phones.
We have reached out to both Apple and Google for comment and will update the story if we receive a response.
