Apple will reportedly announce a partnership with Google at iPhone 16 event

As Apple prepares to launch its suite of AI features (i.e., Apple Intelligence), the iPhone maker has been meeting with a number of companies in the AI space.

One company Apple might ink a deal with is Google, one of its biggest competitors in the mobile space.

According to a new report from Bloomberg's Apple insider Mark Gurman, Apple will announce the addition of Google Gemini on iPhones at its annual event in September. 

Apple chooses Google over Meta for AI?

This year's fall Apple event will see not only the introduction of the new iPhone 16, but also the launch of Apple Intelligence built into the new iOS 18. Apple already announced a partnership with OpenAI at its annual WWDC event in June.

Genmoji, one of the Apple Intelligence features, was announced at WWDC 2024. Credit: Apple

However, Apple is reportedly looking to provide users with a choice of multiple AI models in addition to Apple Intelligence. (Alternative models will be used if Apple Intelligence isn't the right fit for a particular AI task.)

Along with OpenAI, Apple has reportedly held talks with other leaders in the AI space such as Google, Anthropic, and Meta. Gurman reported back in March that Apple and Google had met to discuss integrating Google's Gemini AI model into Apple's upcoming AI features. It seems those talks went well as Gurman expects Apple to announce the Gemini integration in September.

However, according to Gurman, the dialogue between Apple and Meta regarding its Llama AI model didn't go as swimmingly. Apple reportedly has reservations about partnering with Facebook and Instagram's parent company. Gurman says that Meta reached out to Apple in order to spur conversation about Llama integrations in iOS, but Apple wasn't interested in a formal meeting with the company to discuss any further.

Apple has long criticized Meta's privacy practices and those concerns seem to have played a role in Apple passing on Meta's AI offerings. In addition, Gurman says Apple just doesn't view Meta's AI models as being as good as what OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic has to offer.

Apple's entrance into the AI space has been quite late compared to its competitors. However, Apple's dominance in the mobile space has worked in its favor. Gurman reported last month that Apple and OpenAI did not exchange any money as part of its AI partnership. Instead OpenAI will service Apple customers in exchange for mass distribution on Apple's devices. In addition, Apple Fellow Phil Schiller was given an observer spot on OpenAI's board.

It remains to be seen what Apple and Google's AI partnership will look like, but we won't have to wait too long to find out. Apple's traditional September event for iPhone is just a few months away.