Apple and Google announced Monday that the two tech giants have entered into a major multi-year partnership that will power Siri with Google Gemini later this year.
The deal, which will also bring Google’s cloud technology to iPhonerepresents a major shift in Apple’s technology ecosystem, as the tech giant has never before relied on another company to power its AI tools.
“Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration where the next generation of Apple Foundation models will be based on Gemini models and Google cloud technology,” the companies said in a joint statement. “These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming this year.”
Apple said the company chose Google’s AI because it best met its needs, but that all Apple AI features would still work in environments controlled by Apple, preserving user privacy.
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Google’s headquarters is seen in Mountain View, California, United States on October 28, 2021. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“After careful evaluation, Apple has determined that Google’s Al technology provides the highest-performing foundation for Apple Foundation models and is excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users”, the release said. “Apple Intelligence will continue to work on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading privacy standards.”
A man appears to be using an iPhone in front of a store. (dikushin/iStock /Getty Images Plus / Getty Images)
While Google’s AI and cloud technology already drives much of Samsung’s Galaxy AI, the deal would open up another massive market space dominated by Apple, which has more than 1 billion active users worldwide.
The agreement represents a major victory for Googlewhich has sought to rival OpenAI’s early achievements, including Apple’s 2024 partnership with ChatGPT that allowed Siri to consult the AI for certain questions.
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Teleprinter Security Last Change Change % GOOG ALPHABET INC. 332.73 +3.59 +1.09% CEO of Tesla Elon Musk, who also founded his own AI company xAI and is trying to compete with other major players in the industry, reacted to the deal in a post published Monday, saying the partnership gives Google too much influence over users and the Internet.
“This seems like an unreasonable concentration of power for Google, given that they also have Android and Chrome,” Musk said.
Elon Musk speaks on stage during the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on June 19, 2024, in Cannes, France. (Richard Bord/WireImage/Getty Images)
Teleprinter Security Last Change Change % AAPL APPLE INC. 260.25 +0.88 +0.34% Along with its dominance in the Samsung ecosystem, Google controls about 70% of the browser market through Chrome and pays Apple billions each year to remain the default search engine on Safari and Apple devices.
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This deal came under scrutiny when Google was accused of having an illegal monopoly in Internet search.
