Apple, the tech giant known for its innovative products and services, is reportedly exploring partnerships with leading AI companies to enhance its offerings. According to Bloomberg, the iPhone maker is currently engaged in active negotiations with Google to integrate the search giant’s Gemini generative AI technology into its devices. Additionally, Apple has also considered leveraging OpenAI’s ChatGPT to bolster its AI capabilities.
This development comes on the heels of CEO Tim Cook’s confirmation that Apple is investing significant time and effort in developing artificial intelligence features, with plans to roll them out to customers later this year. The report suggests that Apple’s AI-powered features could ultimately be driven by a combination of in-house and third-party AI models. While Apple’s own models may focus on on-device generative AI with the upcoming iOS 18 release, cloud-based AI features such as text and image generation could be facilitated through collaborations with companies like Google.
If the deal with Google materializes, Apple would not be the first company to leverage the search giant’s AI technology in its smartphones. Earlier this year, Samsung introduced a range of Galaxy AI-branded features on its Galaxy S24 smartphones, powered by Google’s AI. Similarly, Google’s AI is prominently featured on its own Pixel 8 devices. However, the specifics of how Google’s AI tech would be branded or implemented in Apple’s products have yet to be determined.
Apple and Google already have a long-standing agreement that makes Google Search the default on Apple devices, a deal believed to be worth around $18 billion annually. However, such arrangements have faced increasing scrutiny from regulators, with the US Department of Justice accusing Google of using them to unfairly solidify its search engine’s market dominance.
A potential AI partnership between Apple and Google could significantly expand the reach of Google’s AI tools, given the over 2 billion iPhones currently in use worldwide. However, Bloomberg notes that such a deal could be seen as an admission by Apple that its own generative AI technology is trailing behind its competitors. Reports indicate that Apple employees have been testing an internal chatbot called Apple GPT, and the company is said to have its own large language model codenamed Ajax, but these technologies are reportedly less advanced than those of its rivals.
It may be some time before any official announcement regarding an AI deal between Apple and Google is made, as Bloomberg suggests that such an agreement is unlikely to be revealed before Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. As the tech world eagerly awaits further developments, it is clear that the integration of AI into smartphones and other devices is set to become an increasingly important factor in the highly competitive market.
