At WWDC 2024, Apple confirmed that its upcoming Apple Intelligence toolset will feature integration with ChatGPT to help field user queries that Siri can’t handle on its own, and now we’re hearing that a second third-party chatbot could be added to the mix.
According to Bloomberg’s resident Apple expert Mark Gurman, Google Gemini could join ChatGPT as one of two Siri-compatible chatbot options in Apple Intelligence. This integration could see iPhone, iPad and MacBook users given the option to use the cloud-based powers of ChatGPT or Google Gemini when Siri is unable to answer a query on-device.
Apple will reportedly announce its collaboration with Google “this fall” (aka September), which aligns with the assumed launch of Apple Intelligence, iOS 18 and the iPhone 16 line.
Rumors surrounding a partnership between Apple and Google have been swirling for some time now, but many tech commentators – including TechRadar’s own Lance Ulanoff – doubted its authenticity owing to Apple’s historic reluctance to bring parity between the best iPhones and best Android phones.
Ulanoff wrote back in March: “Apple's goal with the iPhone 16, iOS 18, and future iPhones is to differentiate its products from Android phones. It wants people to switch and they'll only do that if they see a tangible benefit. If the generative tools on the iPhone are the same as you can get on the Google Pixel 8 Pro (and 9) or Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (and S25 Ultra), why switch?”
It’s a valid question, but perhaps Apple sees its additional (and so far unique) partnership with ChatGPT as the USP of its new and upcoming devices.
There’s also the question of revenue to consider. Gurman recently reported that Apple’s “long-term plan is to make money off Apple Intelligence”, with the company keen to “get a cut of the subscription revenue from every AI partner that it brings onboard.”
It seems likely, then, that Apple will launch a paid version of Apple Intelligence which incorporates the premium, fee-paying features of ChatGPT and Google Gemini, respectively.
Incidentally, Gurman also reports that Apple had brief conversations with Meta about incorporating its Llama chatbot into Apple Intelligence, but the iPhone maker allegedly decided against a partnership due to privacy concerns and a preference for Google’s superior AI technology.
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