Google's Gemini Nano to Drive the Smartphone Industry to the Forefront

2023-12-08

After making everyone wait for so long, Google has finally launched Gemini. Surprisingly, Google has not only stayed with cloud-based LLM, but also entered the LLM competition by creating Gemini Nano, which allows Android to enter LLM. Gemini Nano may have a similar impact as Android did on smartphones years ago. It is designed for on-device tasks and can be operated directly on the phone. Pixel 8 Pro will be the first smartphone to run Gemini Nano, which now supports new features such as "Summarize" in the Recorder app and "Smart Reply" on Gboard. Starting with WhatsApp, more messaging apps are expected to have this feature next year. For example, with this feature, Gemini Nano will automatically generate responses for ongoing conversations in WhatsApp. In addition, Google has introduced a new system called Android AICore in Android 14, which provides an easy way to access Gemini Nano. It handles model management, runtime, security features, and more, simplifying the integration of AI into applications. Threat to Apple? Google is not the only player exploring the integration of LLM on mobile devices. People are highly anticipating Apple's upgraded version of Siri to be introduced in iOS 18 and other operating systems next year. iOS 18 is particularly important for Apple, as it is speculated to introduce generative AI capabilities, aiming to catch up with AI industry leaders like OpenAI and Google. iOS 18 will integrate generative AI technology into Siri and messaging apps to enhance the ability to answer questions and automatically complete sentences. It is reported that Apple is also considering using generative AI in applications such as Apple Music, Pages, Keynote, and Xcode. Despite iPhone's market share reaching 58.28% in the US, Android holds a global market share of 69.44%. Google mentioned in their blog post that after Pixel 8 Pro, they will disclose more details about devices and silicon partners joining AICore and Gemini Nano in the coming months. Considering Google's utilization of Samsung S.LSI, it is highly likely that Samsung will become one of the new partners. It is worth noting that Samsung had a 20% market share in the global smartphone market in the third quarter of 2023. Interestingly, Google announced that its AICore utilizes new machine learning hardware, such as the latest Google Tensor TPU and NPUs in flagship devices from Qualcomm, Samsung S.LSI, and MediaTek. Furthermore, if Google, Samsung, and other Android participants become partners, it will be a huge blow to Apple.