Apple may use Google Gemini to power AI features on iPhone: report

Apple is reportedly in discussions with Google to bring the functionality of Gemini, a large language model based on generative artificial intelligence (AI), to the iPhone. If the deal goes through, iOS 18 could bring Gemini-powered AI features. The company has also reportedly held talks with ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The Cupertino-based tech giant is reportedly turning to third-party technology providers because its own artificial intelligence models are not being developed as quickly as the company would like.

An insider who asked not to be named revealed, Report Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple is “in talks to build Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence engine into the iPhone.” If a deal is reached, Apple will reportedly license Gemini’s line of artificial intelligence models to build new functions and features for its iPhones. However, it also emphasized that the AI ​​capabilities will run on the device, rather than being cloud-based like the Gemini app for Android.

This means that while the basic model will be provided by Google, Apple will build on top of it, focusing on specific tasks and adding limited functionality to iOS. Notably, it is said that the AI ​​feature may be announced during the launch of iOS 18 at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024 in June. However, discussions appear to be at an early stage, with Apple reportedly holding similar talks with OpenAI.

It is said that the reason why Apple seeks artificial intelligence technology from third parties is because its technology is currently quite low-level. Notably, a team of researchers from the company published a preprint of a paper highlighting an artificial intelligence model called MM1 that has multi-modal capabilities. But the downside is that the author also stated that the base model is still in the pre-training stage as it is fine-tuning the architecture.

Gurman has previously hinted that the iPhone may add artificial intelligence capabilities to enhance several functions. Siri is touted to gain artificial intelligence capabilities to improve its natural language processing and perform more complex tasks. Apple Music also gets artificial intelligence to create personalized playlists for users.