Apple is in talks to build Google Gemini into the iPhone’s next operating system, powering Siri and other AI-enabled features, according to reports from Bloomberg on Monday. The iPhone maker reportedly held discussions with multiple AI companies about powering iOS 18 with a competitor’s technology, including OpenAI.
Apple has largely been absent from the AI conversation in 2023, leading to great speculation that the iPhone giant may be falling behind Google and OpenAI. However, CEO Tim Cook promised a major AI announcement this year, largely expected at WWDC in June. The company has reportedly built an AI chatbot, Apple GPT, which employees say is reportedly terrible compared to ChatGPT and Gemini. This report seems to confirm that Apple doesn’t have much up its sleeve, as the Cupertino giant looks to outsource the iPhone’s AI features.
Google Gemini, or potentially another competitor’s AI chatbot, is in discussion to power Siri and other apps. However, the iPhone maker is reportedly planning to build some of its own AI features into the next operating system. Apple released an open-source machine-learning framework at the end of 2023, and an AI image editor in February.
However, these discussions come as Google Gemini has largely been paused for its inability to answer controversial questions. Google is currently working on a fix, but the AI chatbot refuses to answer basic questions if they involve hot-button topics, such as race, politics, or gender issues. Apple is likely betting Google figures out Gemini’s issues in the next few months, and hopefully, the iPhone maker can spare itself from a similar embarrassment.
Using Gemini in the iPhone would build on Apple and Google’s partnership in search, which faced scrutiny from regulators in this last year. Google pays Apple 36% of its search revenue, roughly $18 billion a year, according to details exposed in Google’s antitrust hearing. The U.S. Department of Justice alleges these two companies moved as a single entity to dominate the mobile search market.
An Apple partnership in AI would give Google a huge advantage over American competitors such as OpenAI and Anthropic. It would put Google Gemini in the face of two billion iPhone users.
Apple is under intense pressure to come up with some jaw-dropping AI features, proving that Apple is not falling behind in the next wave of technology. The company scrapped plans for the Apple Car last month, marking the end of a decade-long project that was supposed to inject new growth into Apple. Instead, the iPhone maker shifted employees over to its AI initiatives, where it seems to be putting all its investment behind it.
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