Microsoft and Yahoo reportedly trying to convince Apple to dump Google as the default search engine in Safari
According to a new report from Amir Efrati of The Information, Google's contract with Apple regarding the former's position as the default search engine in Safari is set to end next year. As a result, the both Yahoo and Microsoft are reportedly doing their best to pitch Apple to use their respective search engines instead.
BusinessInsider got a full look at Efrati's report and relays the following highlights:
Yahoo and Microsoft have already started pitching Eddy Cue, Apple's SVP of internet products and services, on the idea of replacing Google with their respective search engines, sources have told Efrati.
Apple has been trying to decrease its reliance on Google, one of its biggest rivals, for years. As of now, Google is the default search engine in both the web and mobile versions of Safari. This means millions of Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users are exposed to Google's search engine every day. That's a valuable spot Yahoo and Microsoft seem eager to take, according to Efrati.
Famously, Apple and Google, once close partners, quickly became rivals with the advent of Android. In turn, Apple actively began trying to lessen its reliance on all things Google, the most prominent example being Apple's in-house Maps app.
Search, though, is an entirely different animal. A good search engine takes time and deep expertise to cultivate. These days, despite improvements from the likes of Bing, Google's own search engine remains the best in the business.
That said, is it possible that Apple's aversion to all things Google might persuade it to lend a serious ear to the pitches being made by Yahoo and Microsoft? I'm skeptical, but it's not necessarily outside the realm of possibility. After all, Microsoft's Bing now provides search results for web queries initiated via Siri and Spotlight in OS X.
But it's not exclusively about who can provide the best search results. There is, as one might expect, a lot of money at play here. Advertising accounts for over 95% of Google's revenue and Google understandably places a lot of value on knowing what consumers are searching for. One report which surfaced last year claims that Google pays Apple approximately $1 billion a year for the right to be the default search engine on iOS devices. Microsoft certainly has deep enough pockets to make a similar deal with Apple, and one has to imagine that they'd be willing to pay much, much more for the privilege of supplanting Google as the default Safari search engine.
