The DOJ is looking to stop Apple from receiving a cut of Google’s search revenue from Safari
“Only Apple can speak to what kinds of future collaborations can best serve its users. Apple is relentlessly focused on creating the best user experience possible and explores potential partnerships and arrangements with other companies to make that happen. If the remedies above were implemented, it would hamstring Apple’s ability to continue delivering products that best serve its user’s needs.”-Eddy Cue, Senior VP of Services, Apple
The government seems to believe that without the current revenue-sharing agreement with Google, Apple will create its own search engine. Cue says that this assumption on the part of the plaintiffs is incorrect. The SVP of Services said that Apple is focused on other growth areas and that building a search engine would cost Apple billions of dollars and take too much time. Additionally, Search is “rapidly evolving” because of changes in AI. As a result, Cue states that it would be “economically risky” for Apple to shell out the cash required to build its own search engine.
Third, and perhaps a key reason why we shouldn’t expect Apple to build its own search engine, such a feature would require Apple to develop its own platform to sell targeted ads. But as Cue points out, this is not one of Apple’s core businesses. He points out that while Apple does sell niche advertising such as the ads sold on the App Store platform, search ads are different. Building such a business, Cue says, would require Apple to balance it against its famous commitment to user privacy.
This is the perfect example of what an Apple search engine is capable of
Apple has decided to get involved in Google’s case as an Intervenor-Defendant because it believes that “Google can no longer adequately represent Apple’s interests: Google must now defend against a broad effort to break up its business units.” Gurman wrote last year that Spotlight is the best example of what Apple’s search capabilities are. Using Spotlight is like having a powerful search engine on your iPhone or iPad.
Spotlight shows what an Apple devised search engine is capable of. | Image credit-PhoneArena
According to Apple, you can:
- Search for an app like Notes, and your results include the option to create a new note.
- Search for a setting like Airplane Mode, and you can toggle the setting on or off.
- Search for a phone number or contact, and you can call it, send a message, or start a FaceTime call.
If Spotlight is an example of what an Apple developed search engine would be capable of doing, I’m here for it.
