In a significant development, Google is reportedly negotiating a partnership with Apple to integrate its AI platform, Gemini, into the iPhone. A recent report indicates that this collaboration aims to enhance the capabilities of Siri, Apple’s native voice assistant, enabling it to tackle more sophisticated inquiries. While the agreement is not yet finalized, discussions between the CEOs of both companies have been ongoing, and if successful, Gemini could be accessible on iPhones by the end of this year.
Gemini Integration on iPhone
Technology News reports that Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed intentions to integrate Gemini into Apple’s ecosystem during the antitrust trial concerning Google’s search practices. When queried about the potential partnership, Pichai acknowledged the rumors, stating, “Correct,” and elaborated on conversations with Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Pichai recounted, “He [Cook] was trying to understand our plans for how we’re evolving AI technologies, our roadmap,” and mentioned discussions surrounding “Gemini app distribution as well.”
The CEO expressed optimism that an agreement could be reached by mid-year, with the Gemini rollout anticipated by the end of 2025. This integration is expected to be akin to the ChatGPT feature that was introduced within Siri with iOS 18 last year, allowing the assistant to utilize OpenAI’s chatbot for composing text, generating images, and addressing complex queries on an opt-in basis.
The report also noted that Cook informed Pichai of plans to offer more third-party AI models via Apple Intelligence later this year.
This is not the first instance of speculation regarding Apple’s efforts to incorporate alternative AI models into its devices. During the post-keynote session at WWDC 2024 held in June, Apple Senior Vice President Craig Federighi hinted at intentions to embed Gemini into Siri. He stated, “We want to enable users ultimately to choose the models they want, maybe Google Gemini in the future.”
Moreover, analyst Aaron Perris from MacRumors revealed code snippets from the iOS 18.4 beta that designate Google under a “Third-party model” category, suggesting that Apple may be actively pursuing the integration of Gemini AI models into its operating system.
