Google Chairman Eric Schmidt Says Relationship with Apple 'Improving'

While at the annual Allen and Co media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said the company's relationship with Apple is "improving" and that the two companies have been conducting "lots and lots" of meetings, reports Reuters.

Schmidt did not provide details about the nature of the meetings during comments to reporters at the annual Allen and Co media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho on Thursday. He noted that Google Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora, who joined him at the press briefing, was leading many of the discussions.

Schmidt did say that the companies are in "constant business discussions on a long list of issues." Last December, the former Google CEO said that the two companies had an "on and off" relationship and that they would work through any issues in "the adult way."

Apple and Google's relationship has been strained in recent years, with constant patent disputes between Apple and Google's Android parters as well as the removal of both Google Maps and YouTube from iOS. The two companies also have taken their rivalry to apps as Google has Safari competitor Chrome in the App Store and has most recently updated its Google Search app with Siri competitor Google Now.

Schmidt had served as an Apple board member while also holding the position of Google CEO, but as the two companies became increasingly direct competitors following Google's launches of Android and Chrome OS, Schmidt stepped down from Apple's board in August 2009.