What’s behind Apple’s secret deal with Google to bring artificial intelligence to iPhones

For fear of missing the artificial intelligence train, Manzana start listening to offers to add features to your new one iPhone. At the moment the project with the greatest chance of joining is Google’s Gemini.

According to a report by Apple insider Mark Gurman for BloombergApple is in talks with Google to integrate Gemini technologies into iOS 18. This represents a unexpected turnas it is one of its main rivals.

The Gemini system, introduced by the company in December 2023 as a “more capable” version of artificial intelligence than Bard, is based on technology from generative modelsthe same one that powers tools like Midjourney, DALL-E and Firefly.

The interest in generative artificial intelligence is not something recent, as it would have led Apple to talk with other companies to obtain a language model that can analyze huge amounts of data and generate text on its own.

In fact, it seems that Apple has had the same conversations with in the past Microsoftthe company that is financing the most OpenAI, with the intention of licensing their model. Something that in the end seems not to have materialized.

Apple is making many moves aimed at bringing artificial intelligence to its devices, such as purchasing DarwinAI, a startup whose technology would make it easier to perform functions on the device.

Therefore, the Gemini integration raises some questions, such as how it could be accomplished and what it will be used for, as well as what functions it would improve.

There’s no doubt that a deal between Apple and Google could have reach significant impact in the AI ​​market. It would give Gemini a crucial advantage in accessing billions of potential iPhone users.

Apple’s only condition, according to sources, is that the artificial intelligence can work without it cloud connection. The Ajax language model on which Apple has been working for some time would not, for the moment, be up to the task.

So far, no spokespersons for Google, Apple or OpenAI have made any statements. Gurman’s information leaves on the table that there is no closed deal. The only certainty is that iOS 18 will integrate generative AI. How and by whom is the main question.

iOS 18, the new operating system

It is possible that this alliance between the two companies is based on the existing one according to which Google is the default search engine on Apple devices. An alliance that could be announced at WWDC, along with iOS 18 and other operating systems.

Two months after the presentation of iOS 18 at WWDC at the Cupertino headquarters. Among these new features would be the ability to create tests with simple suggestions and generate images through generative artificial intelligence. All this even after Google had a giant controversy over the creation of the images.

In this Apple platform event focused on the announcement of its latest innovations, it emerges as the stage where the “headphone mode” will be revealed, an advancement that, although there are not many details, promises to transform the AirPods Pro into capable analog instruments to function as assistants in hearing health.