• Google demonstrated Gemini Spark on an iPhone 17 Pro during Google I/O 2026
• Macs were also used during the keynote
• This probably wasn't an accident though, as Apple users make up a high percentage of potential customers for Google

If you tuned in to the Google I/O keynote yesterday, you might have noticed that, during a demo of Gemini Spark, an iPhone 17 Pro was used rather than a Google Pixel or any other Android phone. That might seem odd, but this almost certainly wasn’t an accident or an oversight.

After all, Gemini Spark and other Google software is available on iPhones — and Macs, which were also spotted during the presentation — and iPhone users make up a huge number of potential customers for Google.

According to DemandSage, there are around 1.56 billion iPhone users in the world, and in Google's home market of the US, the iPhone has a 57.24% market share. So iPhone users are a much bigger potential customer base than Google Pixel users, and if Google is primarily focused on the US, then they become its biggest potential customer base.

An easier sell

So, demonstrating that tools like Gemini Spark function well on iPhones makes sense, since getting iPhone buyers to use Google’s software is probably easier than convincing them to switch to Pixel.

Also, anyone who’s already using a Pixel phone or an Android phone in general is a Google customer already, and probably needs less convincing to use the company’s services. They’ll also probably assume Gemini Spark works on their devices, whereas there would be less certainty of that in Apple’s ecosystem.

So, while it might look odd seeing Apple devices being used during a Google presentation, this was almost certainly discussed and decided on in advance.

Might it also have been a subtle nod to Google's AI partnership with Apple? Quite possibly. In any case, we'll find out more about that relationship at WWDC 2026, which is confirmed to take place on June 8.

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.