Sundar Pichai says Gemini is coming to iPhones soon
What's the story
In a major development, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has held talks with Apple CEO Tim Cook for integrating Gemini AI into iPhones.
The news came to light during the ongoing Google vs. the US Department of Justice search monopoly antitrust trial.
Pichai is hoping to finalize the deal by mid-2025, according to Bloomberg. We could see Gemini AI integrated into iOS 19 later in 2025.
AI integration
Gemini AI could enhance Siri's capabilities
The integration of Gemini AI into iPhones could also improve Siri's capabilities. Users might be able to trigger Siri with Gemini AI, just like some queries are handled by ChatGPT today.
Since iOS 18.2, iPhones have been providing built-in support for ChatGPT, which answers when Siri fails to respond to a query on its own.
User choice
An alternative to ChatGPT
The integration of Gemini AI into iPhones would offer users an alternative to ChatGPT for certain features, like the writing tool.
Currently, the Gemini app is available on iPhones. However, a partnership between Google and Apple could give direct access to this AI system without the need for an additional download.
AI strategy
Apple's vision for AI chatbots
Apple has always maintained its ambition to provide more than one option for AI chatbots.
"We want to enable users ultimately to choose the models they want, maybe Google Gemini in the future," Apple's senior VP Craig Federighi said last June.
Earlier this year, MacRumors reported spotting "Google" as a possible Apple Intelligence model option in the iOS 18.4 beta, further hinting at the possibility of Gemini AI integration into iPhones.
Siri update
Siri 2.0 is under development
In a bid to keep Siri relevant, Apple has reportedly reassigned its Siri engineers to Mike Rockwell's team, which oversees software development for the Vision Pro headset.
The company hopes Rockwell's team will expedite improvements to Siri.
There have been talks of a major overhaul of Siri, dubbed by some as Siri 2.0, focusing on new AI capabilities for the digital assistant. However, this revamp seems to be delayed significantly.