Earlier this week, it was revealed that Apple was in talks with Google to license its Gemini models to enable some generative AI features in the next version of iOS, iOS 18, for iPhone. It was also alleged to have communicated with OpenAI about a potential partnership.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has reportedly been in negotiations with Baidu about licensing its models. This is most likely meant to fulfill AI requests to Apple consumers in China, as Chinese law needs models to be certified by the government before they can be utilized.
The Chinese authority has already certified over 40 models, including Baidu's Ernie Bot.
Gemini, on the other hand, lacks Chinese regulatory authority; the Great Firewall prevents access to Google Search, resulting in Google having virtually no footprint in China. OpenAI's ChatGPT is not available in China either.
As of yet, Apple is not known to have sealed agreements with any generative AI providers. The discussions are underway, and the agreement will most likely be reached before WWDC in June. Many AI-powered capabilities are expected in iOS 18, with some handled on-device and others sent to cloud-based backend models.
Assuming Apple sticks to its typical schedule, iOS 18 will be launched in June, with a developer beta running over summer. iOS 18 will then be available for free download to all iPhone buyers in September, as well as preinstalled on the iPhone 16 series.
