iPhones will be able to rely on artificial intelligence features based on Google’s Gemini models. According to sources familiar with the matter, Apple is in talks with the search giant to close a partnership and put more advanced AI tools on iOS.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple is working on its own AI models, but they focus on features that run on the devices themselves. More advanced functions, such as creating images or generating texts, can be performed in the cloud, using the models of a partner company.
As the report recalls, Apple would be developing its own large-scale language model (LLM), the name given to technologies that use artificial intelligence to understand and write texts. It is said to be codenamed Ajax and is reportedly being tested by employees on a chatbot dubbed Apple GPT.
The performance, however, would be below the competition — partnering, apparently, is a more viable solution. Before talking to Google, Apple talked to OpenAI.
Even if Apple and Google strike a partnership, it’s unlikely to be announced at the upcoming WWDC developer convention. The event traditionally takes place in June and brings the announcement of the new versions of the brand’s operating systems. iOS 18 should only have features developed by the company itself.
Samsung already uses Gemini, and Apple and Google have a search partnership
If it becomes a reality, the contract could be another important victory for Google in the field of generative AI. Before Apple, Samsung announced Galaxy AI on the Galaxy S24, which uses Gemini Pro and Imagen 2 in Google’s cloud.
Apple and Google already have some relationships. One of the main ones is the deal where Google pays billions of dollars to be the default search engine on Apple products. This contract has been in the crosshairs of U.S. officials, who believe it could be a way to stifle competition.
