Google is nearing an agreement with Apple to integrate its Gemini technology into the iPhone. During a search monopoly trial on Wednesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated that the company anticipates finalizing a deal with Apple by mid-year, with plans for rollout expected by the end of 2025.
This integration is likely to enhance Siri’s capabilities, enabling it to utilize Gemini for addressing more intricate queries, akin to how Apple has partnered with OpenAI for ChatGPT integration. Last June, Apple’s senior vice president Craig Federighi hinted at incorporating Gemini into the Apple Intelligence feature when the AI service was first unveiled, stating, “We want to empower users to ultimately select the models they prefer, possibly Google Gemini in the future.”
This latest development was shared in response to inquiries from Department of Justice lawyer Veronica Onyema. Pichai confirmed the plans, responding “Correct” to the inquiry. He also reported having discussions with Apple CEO Tim Cook regarding AI advancements, noting, “He [Cook] wanted to understand our plans for evolving AI technologies, our roadmap, and our discussion included the distribution of the Gemini app.” Additionally, Pichai mentioned that Cook informed him that more third-party AI models would be available on Apple Intelligence later this year.
There are further indications that this integration is forthcoming. In February, MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered references to “Google” as a model option within the Apple Intelligence framework in an iOS 18.4 beta. With the ChatGPT integration, Siri automatically requests permission to utilize the third-party AI model for answering more complex inquiries; ChatGPT also has the capability to analyze images and create visuals based on text input.