OpenAI is considering suing Apple. According to Bloomberg, Sam Altman's company has already hired an outside law firm that is mapping the options - which don't have to start with a public lawsuit, but could end with a formal notice of breach of contract.

The argument is almost two years old. The partnership between the two companies was announced at WWDC in June 2024 - ChatGPT integrated into Siri and into the Visual Intelligence feature on the iPhone. OpenAI expected billions of dollars worth of new subscribers and a prime spot in one of the most used mobile ecosystems in the world. That didn't happen.

According to sources close to OpenAI, the integration has been literally buried in Apple's menus, hard to find, and the revenue from it is far below what was projected. Apple, on its side, isn't sitting quietly either - it has its own complaints, including concerns over OpenAI's privacy practices and irritation at its increasingly aggressive move into hardware, a project led by former Apple design chief Jony Ive.

Apple's history with partners is instructive. Google Maps was a key feature of the original iPhone until Apple ripped it out in 2012 and replaced it with its own Apple Maps product - so weak that Tim Cook had to issue a public apology. Adobe Flash was crushed by Steve Jobs with a single open letter in 2010. Spotify spent years at war with App Store rules and ended with a 1.8 billion euro fine against Apple from the European Commission in March 2024.

Ironically, while OpenAI is preparing legal action, Google is becoming Apple's main AI infrastructure partner. A multi-year agreement was signed in January for Gemini models to power the next generation of Apple Intelligence. Apple pays around 1 billion dollars a year. The same Google that was thrown out of the iPhone 14 years ago is now coming back as the biggest partner. OpenAI, meanwhile, is heading for the courtroom.

The question isn't whether Apple can have partners. The question is whether anyone can stay an Apple partner for longer than necessary. History says: not really.