Apple iOS 27 to Let Users Pick Their Own AI Model — OpenAI Exclusivity Cracking
Axotron Take
This is huge. Apple opening AI choice to users means Claude, Gemini, and others can now live inside the iPhone. OpenAI's two-year lock just started slipping.
Full Notes
Apple is reportedly building a feature internally called "Extensions" for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 — letting users choose third-party AI providers like Google and Anthropic to power Apple Intelligence features instead of defaulting to OpenAI.
This is a direct crack in the OpenAI-Apple exclusivity that has existed since 2024. OpenAI got distribution inside every iPhone in exchange for powering Siri's intelligence layer. That deal is now being loosened.
For users, this means you could have Claude or Gemini handling your text editing, writing suggestions, and image tasks natively inside iOS — without downloading a separate app. AI becomes a setting, not a product.
For the broader market, this is the moment the AI assistant race becomes truly open on mobile. Whoever builds the best experience for iOS users now has a path to hundreds of millions of devices. The distribution advantage OpenAI had is now available to everyone willing to build for Apple's ecosystem.