While Google’s search engine has been the default on Apple devices for years, recently unsealed court testimony reveals that Apple had conversations with Microsoft and DuckDuckGo about the use of their search engines on Apple devices and, in the case of Microsoft, potentially buying Bing, according to The Washington. Post Office and Bloomberg. In negotiating its lucrative search deal with Google, Apple used the possibility of a partnership with Microsoft as a useful negotiating tool.
The information was revealed as part of the Justice Department’s unprecedented antitrust action against Google, which accuses the search giant of abusing its market dominance. A crucial component of this test is an agreement in which Google pays Apple billions of dollars each year in revenue sharing in exchange for making Google search the default on all Apple devices. Apple defended the deal, claiming that there was no credible alternative search engine available.
Bloomberg reported last week that Apple was considering buying Bing, but newly revealed testimony from Apple senior vice president John Giannandrea provides more insight into the talks. According to Bloomberg, Apple met with Microsoft in 2018 and again in 2020 to discuss a possible Bing acquisition or joint venture. The company even investigated the quality of Bing’s search results compared to Google’s, but found that Bing had worse results overall, except for English desktop searches.
Apple previously used Bing as the default search service for some of its products (between 2013 and 2017, Microsoft’s search engine provided answers for Siri and Spotlight searches), but ultimately decided to stick with Google in a deal worth about $19,000. million dollars a year. . Additionally, you can also read about: Apple considered replacing Google with Bing as the default search engine
Although Apple appeared to be seeking a deal with Microsoft, an internal Apple email revealed as part of the trial reveals that the corporation was, at least partially, using Bing as a bargaining chip with Google. “We build them [Microsoft] increase, create incremental negotiating leverage to maintain Google’s acquisition rate, and advance our option to replace Google in the future,” Apple Vice President Adrian Perica wrote, according to The Washington Post. Microsoft, for its part, was aware that it was being used for leverage. “It’s no secret that Apple makes more money from the existence of Bing than Bing,” Mikhail Parakhin, Microsoft’s head of advertising and digital services, said during a court hearing.
According to newly revealed testimony from DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg, Apple reportedly held approximately 20 meetings and phone calls with DuckDuckGo to discuss making the search engine the default for Safari’s private browsing mode. DuckDuckGo positions itself as a more private search engine alternative to the major search engines. Although Weinberg stated that he “thought [Apple] I would launch it,” Apple’s Giannandrea claimed he didn’t know the company was considering a change, and even questioned DuckDuckGo’s privacy guarantees, according to Bloomberg.
Read more: Google AI challenges ChatGPT and Bing with new everyday features
According to Giannandrea, DuckDuckGo’s reliance on Bing for search information puts user information at risk of being shared with Microsoft. “I probably would have insisted on doing a lot more due diligence on DuckDuckGo” if Apple was really considering switching, Giannandrea added.
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Categories: Technology
Source: vtt.edu.vn