Apple may soon enter the generative AI space as reports indicate the brand is in talks with Google to bring its Gemini chatbot to the iPhone.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said the two companies are currently in “active negotiations” for a partnership, but OpenAI’s ChatGPT has also been in the running as the AI option for Apple. The analyst also details that future AI efforts from Apple will likely combine first- and third-party generative models. Consumers could see several options, including on-device generative features running Apple-based AI models, which could release on iOS 18 later this year. There could also be a number of cloud-based features, including text- and image-generation that would be connected to AI partnerships with Google or Open AI. However, it is likely Apple won’t share any official details about its AI plans until at least June, at its Worldwide Developers Conference.
Apple CEO Tim Cook previously confirmed that the company would have a focus on generative AI in 2024, telling shareholders at a first quarter earnings call the company was working on a proprietary chatbot, tentatively called Apple GPT alongside new hardware. Reports also indicate that Apple has developed its own native multimodal large-language model, codenamed Ajax. However, according to a research paper published by the company, the technology is not as powerful as other options currently available. This might be one reason Apple is looking to partner with a more AI-focused company.
Many have noted that Apple’s entry into the mobile AI field would put it on equal footing with competitors, such as Samsung and Google, which have already introduced smartphones with AI-inundated features. Samsung released the latest Galaxy S24 series earlier this year as its first AI mobile devices, while the Pixel 8 series has been on the market since October 2023.
Bloomberg noted due to Apple already partnering with Google to have its search engine on iPhones is already a cause for concern for government regulators. That one deal is reportedly $18 billion annually, and the US Department of Justice believes Google is attempting to monopolize use of its search engine in the market. If Google wins the AI partnership with Apple, it would add more of its features to over 2 billion iOS devices currently circulating the market, the publication added.
Murmurs and speculations about what Apple’s AI option would be like have been circulating since the market exploded a year and a half ago. Notably, developers have experimented with creating Apple compatible ChatGPT extensions in lieu of official features. One example is the aptly named MacGPT application created by developer Jordi Bruin, which allows the original ChatGPT chatbot to run on Mac desktops. The app became available in March 2023, well before Microsoft‘s partnership with OpenAI brought the GPT large language model run Copilot chatbot to Windows desktop.
