Apple is working on it's own search engine | Technoiable

 

Apple has accelerated work to develop its own search engine that would allow the iPhone maker to offer an alternative to Google, a report said Wednesday. The report, citing unnamed sources, said signs of the search engine technology have begun to appeal in its iOS 14 operating system. The move comes amid increased scrutiny by antitrust enforcers, who sued Google in the United States over its dominance in search technology. As part of the lawsuit, the Department of Justice noted that Google pays Apple billions of dollars to be the principal search engine on iOS devices.

Apple two years ago hired Google’s head of search, John Giannandrea, in a move designed to help build artificial intelligence capabilities and its Siri virtual assistant.

As of now Google pays Apple between $10b and $12b a year to be the main search provider on Apple devices, but that deal will soon expire and a reported antitrust case against Google by the US Department of Justice could prevent its extension.

Apple has already made moves for a transition away from Google. Its Applebot, which was first reported of in 2014, has been crawling the web ever since and has allegedly increased its rate substantially recently. Furthermore, in iOS 14's home screen search, Apple has begun to link directly to websites, bypassing Google entirely.

Finally, nearly three years ago, Apple poached Google's Search and Artificial Intelligence chief John Giannandrea, who is now Senior VP or Machine Learning and AI Strategy at Apple.

It's unclear what shape or form an Apple search engine could take. If it will be an enhanced Spotlight on iOS and OS X devices or if it will be a full-blown website like Google.com.

But it's becoming clearer that Apple and Google's practices of receiving payment to be the primary search provider on millions of devices would soon face regulatory pressure. Google's payments to Apple are reportedly around 20% of Apple's services revenue.