iPhones may get Google Gemini too

Samsung’s Galaxy AI features are already powered by Google’s Gemini models, but Google may have an even bigger partner on board soon. Reports claim that Google and Apple are talking about a partnership with Gemini at its core which could power some Apple-branded features.

Bloomberg cites people familiar with the matter saying that the two companies are in “active negotiations to let Apple license Gemini, Google’s set of generative AI models, to power some new features coming to the iPhone software this year.” Apple also reportedly held negotiations with OpenAI for a similar deal involving its GPT model, so the final outcome about which model will power iOS generative AI features is still up for debate.

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There is the possibility that none of the deals go through, too. An AI cooperation between Google and Apple may be in for a lot of regulatory scrutiny given the lucrative default provider deal already in place for Google Search.

In fact, the user-facing version of Gemini is rolling out on iOS as part of the Google app. Like ChatGPT, Gemini can be used to ask questions, generate content and images, and more. The partnership discussed between Apple and Google would likely entail a deeper integration of Gemini’s underlying models, which are confusingly also called Gemini.

Samsung’s partnership with Google gives us a glimpse at what to expect

If the partnership works anything like the one Google struck with Samsung, Apple would likely run some specific Apple-branded features with Gemini under the hood, portraying its own brand to users rather than Google’s. This could be features like image editing, improved translations, and AI summaries.

The prospective partnership is possibly a sign that Apple’s own generative AI efforts are not as advanced as its competitors’, to the point that Apple is just turning to Google for help. A close partnership like this is a return to the roots, in a sense. Apple previously worked closely together with Google to bring some key apps to the first iPhone, like YouTube and Google Maps, before a falling out between the two companies.

In that process, Apple launched its ill-received Google Maps competitor Apple Maps, which it slowly but surely improved to turn it into a viable alternative. If this playbook is any indication, Apple may keep working on its own AI efforts and just rely on Google to close the gap in the meantime.