Will Google Gift The Pixel’s Superpower To The iPhone 17 Pro?

Apple looks set to bring a stronger flavor of artificial intelligence to the iPhone and Siri later this year. The twist is that Apple will use Google’s Gemini AI, which is already running in Google’s Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro smartphones.

That’s the implication made by Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai during court proceedings reported by Bloomberg:

“During the court proceedings, Pichai said he is hopeful that Gemini, which competes with ChatGPT, will be added as an additional AI option on Apple products. Pichai said he held a series of conversations with Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook across 2024 and he hopes to have a deal done by the middle of this year.”

Gemini AI Inside The iPhone

Google will find significant value by placing Gemini AI inside the iPhone. This will bring tens of millions of users to Gemini, and I would expect that a notable portion of those will be power-users, potentially signing up for Google’s premium services.

While the Pixel line of smartphones is highly visible to consumers and acts as a signpost to Android manufacturers and developers on the platform’s future direction, they are not a significant part of either Google or parent company Alphabet’s financial results. Sharing the new Google Gemini AI models with the iPhone should be a net positive for Google.

The same is not true of Apple. iPhone revenue makes up more than fifty percent of Apple’s overall revenue, and this smartphone remains a lynchpin for Tim Cook and his team. Apple moved into the artificial intelligence arena eleven months later than Google’s with its Pixel 8. It has yet to deliver all of the features announced in June 2024 at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

The Impact Of Gemini AI In The iPhone

Apple’s allowing iPhone users to access Google’s AI platform before it can roll out its own package is humbling. It highlights how far back the company is and allows Google to gain a foothold in the mobile AI race and a beachhead for Gemini on the iPhone.

Apple will be able to show how it can catch up at this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference next month. Before that, though, Google has its own I/O Conference, where it too will look to build on the current AI technology.

Which will now include the iPhone.

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