Apple Concedes On AI, Will Use Google Models For Its Products

Yes, wow. After more than a year of speculation about why Apple - arguably tech's most iconic brand - appeared to have fallen behind other major tech firms in AI development, Apple yesterday conceded that it makes more sense to employ another company's AI - in this case, Google - in order to become competitive in adoption of that technology for its products. 

This concession, for that is what it is, breaks with Apple's traditional preference for in-house technological innovation. And despite the inevitable chorus of articles claiming Steve Jobs is rolling over in his grave, the world has changed. Given the amounts of money required to become competitive in AI, the head start established by others - and the serious questions being raised about the long term efficacy of this entire technology - Apple may well have the last laugh, financially and operationally. JL

Kalley Huang reports in the New York Times:

After a yearlong delay to its efforts to compete in AI, Apple said on Monday that it planned to base its A.I. products on technology developed by Google. The upcoming versions of Apple Foundation Models — the company’s models for its A.I. system, Apple Intelligence — will be based on Google’s Gemini A.I. models and its cloud computing services. Those models will power Apple’s Siri, commonly used in iPhones and is expected to be upgraded this year, as well as other A.I. features. The partnership with Google does not mean the iPhone maker is abandoning its A.I. work. But it does indicate that Apple is taking a more cautious approach than its peers. “After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google’s A.I. technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple."

After a nearly yearlong delay to its efforts to compete in artificial intelligence, Apple said on Monday that it planned to base its A.I. products on technology developed by Google.

The upcoming versions of Apple Foundation Models — the company’s models for its A.I. system, Apple Intelligence — will be based on Google’s Gemini A.I. models and its cloud computing services. Those models will power Apple’s personal assistant, Siri, which is commonly used in iPhones and is expected to be upgraded this year, as well as other A.I. features.

“After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google’s A.I. technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users,” the companies said in a statement.

The companies did not disclose the exact terms of the multiyear deal, and a spokesman for Google said the partnership was not exclusive. Shares of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, ended trading on Monday at just under $332, making it the fourth publicly traded company to be worth more than $4 trillion.

Apple has increasingly faced questions over its plans for A.I. The company has largely stayed on the sidelines as other technology juggernauts have spent tens of billions of dollars developing A.I. and as start-ups have pushed the envelope on the technology.

The partnership with Google does not mean the iPhone maker is abandoning its A.I. work. But it does indicate that Apple is taking a more cautious approach than its peers. It is allowing Google to conduct the laborious — and expensive — development of core A.I. models, which requires the computing capacity of massive data centers running tens of thousands of servers.

The two companies have a long history of working together. Google has provided the default search engine for Apple’s Safari web browser for years.

Apple stumbled in its earlier attempts to adopt A.I. In June 2024, the company demonstrated Apple Intelligence, which included features like summarizing notifications and improving emails and text messages. Those features arrived later than expected and quickly ran into hiccups. Notification summaries misrepresented news reports, for example, and Apple disabled that feature. In March, Apple postponed the release of an improved Siri. Then, last month, Apple announced the retirement of its head of A.I., John Giannandrea. He was succeeded by Amar Subramanya, a former executive at Google and Microsoft.

Apple already works with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT with Siri and Apple Intelligence. Consumers can allow Siri to use ChatGPT, for example, to answer more complex questions on behalf of the personal assistant.