This discovery is not unexpected. Following the keynote announcement of Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024, software exec Craig Federighi confirmed rumors of an Apple and Google partnership, saying, "We’re looking forward to doing integrations with other models, including Google Gemini, for instance, in the future."

Apple has pushed out a backend update along with the iOS 18.4 beta. "Google" is mentioned as a third-party model for Apple Intelligence.

Apple software chief Craig Federighi hinted that the company wants to integrate more AI models, including Google Gemini. Now, a new leak suggests that this integration could be on the way in the near future,

Code within the new iOS 18.4 beta shows that Apple appears to be readying an alternative to its ChatGPT integration in Apple Intelligence, with an option to use Google Gemini.

Gemini integrates so well with Google’s ecosystem that there’s a much greater risk of folks casting Apple Intelligence than abandoning Gemini for ChatGPT. A lack of Gemini on the iPhone could even be enough to persuade some folks to switch platforms to experience everything Gemini has to offer.

A code update coinciding with the iOS 18.4 beta release shows that Apple might prepare Gemini chatbot support in Apple Intelligence.

Apple has introduced code referencing “Google” as a third-party model choice for Apple Intelligence to leverage, according to a backend change spotted by Aaron Perris, who often shares info gleaned from Apple firmware code,