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Apple boss Tim Cook:
Google's AI Gemini soon on the iPhone?
Photo: Valerie Macon / AFP
A spectacular deal between two giants is brewing in the tech scene. Apple boss
Tim Cook
(63) apparently plans to integrate arch-rival Google's Gemini artificial intelligence into his iPhones. The US news agency Bloomberg reported this on Monday. The two companies' negotiations are about licensing Gemini for some new features that will be integrated into the iPhone software this year, the report said. However, neither the terms nor the branding of a possible AI agreement have yet been determined. The way in which the AI should be implemented is also still unclear.
However, one thing is clear: the deal would be a liberation. Cook is under pressure. In the global hype about AI, the iPhone manufacturer has so far been left relatively unscathed. The company's own Siri system, which has been built into smartphones for years, lags significantly behind the new, generative AI. Investors also fear that AI apps will be introduced slowly in the Apple world and could slow sales of iPhones, which accounted for more than half of the company's $383 billion in sales in fiscal 2023.
A look at the stock market also shows how great the concerns are. Apple has lost its status as the most valuable company this year - despite the ongoing price boom in the tech sector, its shares have lost around 10 percent of their value. Specifically, this means: Apple is currently worth around $300 billion less than it was at the turn of the year.
Apple needs to catch up
To ensure a better atmosphere, Cook has already announced his own AI offensive. Untypical for Apple, he promised investors new AI features at the last earnings call; They will be presented at the WWDC developer conference in June 2024. It is unlikely that a possible agreement with Google will be announced before WWDC. Especially since, according to Bloomberg, Apple recently held talks with the ChatGPT manufacturer OpenAI about the use of its AI model.
Cook still plans to use its own AI models for some new features in the upcoming operating system called iOS 18, according to Bloomberg. A partnership with a partner like Google is intended to unlock additional functionality for Apple, including capabilities for creating images or writing essays based on simple prompts. "This strategic partnership is a missing piece in Apple's AI strategy," said
Daniel Ives
, an analyst at Wedbush.
AI booster also for Google and Gemini
Cook would probably not be the only beneficiary. A possible deal with Apple could
also help Google boss
Sundar Pichai
(51). It would expand use of its AI services to more than 2 billion active Apple devices. A boost for the Gemini introduction, which got off to a slow start after numerous errors. It would also support the search giant's efforts to catch up with Microsoft-funded AI pioneer OpenAI. Investors fear that ChatGPT could threaten Google's current dominance as a search engine.
In January, Google partnered with Apple competitor Samsung to use its generative AI technology in the South Korean company's Galaxy S24 series smartphones. This was the first step in promoting the use of Gemini. Now a deal with Apple could be next.
"This is a big win for Google to enter the Apple ecosystem," commented analyst Ives. It is the "access to the golden base of Cupertino," he said, referring to Apple's California headquarters.
In any case, both companies benefited on the stock market: the shares of Google parent Alphabet rose by more than 6 percent in early US trading, and those of Apple by 2.5 percent.
The two tech companies have had a long-standing partnership - despite the bitter rivalry at the level of smartphone operating systems between iOS (Apple) and Android (Google). In a hyper-lucrative deal, Google is transferring $18 billion a year to Cook's troupe to become the default search engine in Apple's Safari web browser. A significant license fee is likely to flow in the other direction for the use of Gemini.
However, there is also a risk in the existing proximity. Regulatory authorities already see the close partnership as a problem. US authorities have already sued Google over the billion-dollar deal. They see this as suppressing competition in order to maintain a monopoly in the search business. An AI deal could lead to tougher opposition.
Gemini is a further development of the Google AI Bard, which made a fictitious answer when it premiered at the beginning of 2023. After initial tests, users initially commented positively on Gemini's capabilities. In the meantime, however, the company had to switch off the AI's image generator again because it had made errors in the representation of historical motifs.
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