Apple Exec Says They Chose Google as Default Search Engine Because it is the Best
Apple was roped in to testify because of the Information Services Agreement with Google that makes the latter’s search engine the default in Apple products.
- Apple’s senior vice president of Services, Eddy Cue, testified at a recent hearing in Washington D.C. for the U.S. v. Google antitrust lawsuit.
- Apple was roped in to testify because of the Information Services Agreement between Apple and Google that makes the latter’s popular search engine the default in Apple products.
- Cue said Google was the best option among available search engines.
The U.S. Department of Justice and dozens of states that sued Google were surprised after Apple vouched for them at a recent testimony in Washington D.C. for the U.S. v. Google antitrust case. Apple’s senior vice president of Services, Eddy Cue, said Google has the best in business web search engine service.
Cue and Apple’s statement pertains to their Information Services Agreement (ISA) deal with Google, wherein the latter pays out tens of billions of dollars to the former for keeping the Google search engine as the default in iPhones and other Apple devices globally, except for China, where Google is, for all intents and purposes, banned.
“Certainly there wasn’t a valid alternative at the time,” Cue said, referring to the Apple-Google revenue-sharing deal last renewed in 2016. “I didn’t think at the time, or today, that there was anybody out there who is anywhere near as good as Google at searching.”
Apple reportedly mints an annual income of less than $20 billion through this deal. The payouts for Samsung and Mozilla stand at approximately $3 billion and $450 million, respectively. It is unclear exactly what percentage of Google’s revenue Apple takes home, though negotiations in 2016 and, more importantly, Cue’s testimony reveal it is higher than agreed in 2002.
This is the crux of the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) antitrust case against Google: did the company leverage its position to quash competition, thereby resorting to monopolistic tactics?
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Apple’s defense by touting Google as being miles ahead of any other search engine could bear little value as Google has enjoyed a 90%+ market share for over a decade (with some monthly blips), wherein Google employing usage trends and data as a recursive feedback loop contributed to bettering the service throughout the time.
Additionally, Apple would have to come to Google’s defense in case of government actions as part of the deal. The stipulation, according to Cue while speaking with Justice Department attorney Meagan Bellshaw, was included owing to an antitrust investigation against the search giant in the European Union. Terms of the deal between Apple and Google will be unwrapped as the hearings proceed.
Meanwhile, the court, presided by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, questioned how Apple devices are designed and whether they can offer users the option to choose among various search engines like DuckDuckGo, Bing, and more.
As it stands, users can change the default search engine in iPhones and iPads by navigating to Settings > Safari > Search > choose among the options.
However, the litigation also seeks to underline the possibility of Apple prompting users to choose a default search engine instead of using it for them. “Setup is just critical stuff,” Cue added. “We try to get people up and running as fast as possible.”
He continued, “The more choices or the more options that you get, it frustrates customers,” Cue said.
Apple’s senior vice president of Machine Learning and AI Strategy, John Giannandrea, also testified behind closed doors.
Is the ISA profit-driven, or does it stem from a lack of a better search engine? Share with us on LinkedIn, X, or Facebook. We’d love to hear from you!
Image source: Shutterstock
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