WWDC 2024 is just weeks away, but while the company will showcase its own generative AI features and likely announce a partnership with OpenAI for a chatbot, Apple is yet to conclude its partnership dealings.
According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, Apple is "still working to hash out an agreement with Google to provide Gemini as an option, but don’t expect this to be showcased in June."
While negotiations have been ongoing for quite some time, OpenAI seemingly won the race and that's why they'll be part of the WWDC announcement, likely during the keynote.
As Gurman reports, however, OpenAI's Chief Executive Officer, Sam Altman (who had previously been ousted from the firm), is a controversial figure, particularly in light of the company being accused of building a voice model built on Scarlett Johansson's voice without her permission.
Apple "can't be comfortable" with OpenAI as single-source supplier
As Gurman notes, "Apple can’t be that comfortable with OpenAI as a single-source supplier for one of iOS’s major new features", hence why they're keeping options open with Google's Gemini.
As we previously covered, Apple sees an AI partnership as a way to mitigate the risk of generative AI getting something wholly wrong, or causing something of a controversy - something Apple understandably wants to avoid.
Gurman says that "If Apple welcomes in other chatbot makers, it will probably be handled on a case-by-case basis."
"Though the company often opens up features to all third-party developers, it’s expected to be judicious here and hammer out individual arrangements. In any case, the partnerships will help buy Apple some time until its own bot is ready."
Gurman also suggests that Apple's huge userbase could mean they don't need to play catch-up to AI rivals after all, with device owners using the new features from day one, while the capabilities could even be marketed as a preview of sorts.
