OnePlus and Oppo are betting big on Gemini—just not Ultra.
Update (April 12, 2024): OnePlus has issued a correction for their original announcement: The company says their press release mistakenly announced that "Gemini Ultra Large Model" would make its debut on OnePlus 12, when the press release should have said "Gemini Models" instead. As Gemini comes in three models (Nano, Pro, and Ultra), it's not clear which models will make their way to OnePlus 12. So, it's still possible OnePlus plans to integrate Google's most powerful AI model on their smartphones, but we won't know until the company officially confirms what "models" means.
The original article is as follows:
The OnePlus 12 might have launched without support for AI earlier this year, but it seems OnePlus and Oppo (both owned by BBK) have big plans for how they want to support AI going forward: Both OnePlus and Oppo have announced that they will introduce features powered by Gemini 1.0 Ultra to their smartphones.
Gemini Ultra is the most powerful AI that Google has to offer, and so far, it hasn't been included on any smartphones—not even Google's own Pixel 8 Pro, which instead sports Gemini Nano. It was hard not to compare the OnePlus 12 to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra when I reviewed the two phones earlier this year, but the OnePlus could soon offer an even more powerful suite of AI features than Galaxy AI currently does, as Samsung opted for Gemini Pro, not Gemini Ultra.
Neither company announced a specific date for when we can expect to see Gemini Ultra on OnePlus and Oppo phones, or even any explicit information about which smartphones from the two companies will sport the Google-powered AI. However, we do know that they are aiming for "later this year."
After the launch of its latest smartphones, OnePlus has already started to introduce features like AI Eraser, which works very similarly to Google's own Magic Eraser on the Pixel phones and in Google Photos. That feature isn't powered by Google's AI, though, so it's unclear if it will get an upgrade down the line or if it will continue to use the model it already relies on.
Either way, the OnePlus 12 is sure to become an even more appealing flagship device for Android users once Gemini becomes available on it and other OnePlus devices. The companies say they plan to bring a slew of generative AI features to the table, including generative photo editing, chat assistance, and tons of other features that are already found on the Galaxy S24 and Pixel 8 lineups.
