Apple May Tap Google’s Gemini for AI Features on iPhone

Apple could be set to use Google’s Gemini to power AI features in its iPhones, new reports suggest.

Bloomberg said the pair have held conversations on Apple licensing Gemini to power AI features, adding that Apple wants a partner “to do the heavy lifting of generative AI.”

The licensing deal is yet to be finalized, and the companies still need to agree on branding and an implementation plan.

Talks between the pair are active, with Bloomberg suggesting no deal would be announced until at least June when Apple is due to hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

Apple could still strike a similar deal with a different provider, like OpenAI, or use AI technology from multiple partners.

While Apple is in reported talks with Google, the iPhone maker is also including AI updates in iOS 18, though the AI features in that update will be Apple’s own, Bloomberg reports.

Apple has been working on its own AI models, testing a system dubbed Ajax internally. There is also a chatbot system called Apple GPT but it is reportedly more rudimentary compared with rival chatbot systems like ChatGPT.

Just last week, Apple launched MM1, a powerful multimodal system capable of understanding multiple images and text.

The potential AI deal would add to Apple and Google’s current multibillion-dollar deal under which Google is the default search for the Safari web browser on the iPhone.

Related:Apple Launches First Multimodal AI Model