Few days ago Apple released the news that it is already developing its own search technology to address Google's dominance in the search engine landscape.
This effort is becoming more notorious as US antitrust authorities threaten multi-million dollar payments that Google is making to secure the location of its engine on the iPhone. This threatens to force an end to their research partnership and reduce the industry's research leader's grip.
In an inconspicuous change from the latest version of the iPhone operating system, iOS 14, Apple began displaying its own search results and linking directly to websites when users type queries from their home screen. This web search capability marks a major advance in Apple's internal development and could form the basis for a more comprehensive attack on Google.
The company is notoriously secretive about its internal plans, But the move adds to mounting evidence that it is working to build a rival for Google's search engine.
However, for now, the default search engine on Apple devices it's still google, something for which the search giant pays Apple between $ 8 billion and $ 12 billion a year.
Search marketers also point to the increased activity of Applebot, the iPhone maker's web crawler, which is used to build the vast database of online material that forms the foundation of any search engine.
Other signs that Apple is stepping up its efforts to develop your own search technology is that the company hired the head of Google search, John Giannnandrea, more than two years ago.
The hiring was apparently aimed at increasing his artificial intelligence capabilities and his virtual assistant Siri, but he also brought eight years of experience running the world's most popular search engine.
The company's growing internal search capabilities offer it an alternative if regulators block its lucrative partnership with Google. When the US Department of Justice launched a case last week about Google's payments to Apple for being the iPhone's default search tool, it added urgency to the initiative.
Another more important clue is that iOS 14 has bypassed Google for some search features. Queries made in the scrollable search window from the iPhone home screen, which Apple calls "Today's View," display a list of Apple-generated search suggestions instead of Google results.
These results include "autocomplete" suggestions generated by Apple, showing that it is learning from the most common requests of its XNUMX billion users.
Apple is faced with the choice of defending its search contract with Google or turning against its long-time partner.
Build a true rival for google search engine it could take years. But Apple is one of the few companies that has the resources to take on Google.
With a market capitalization of more than $ 2 trillion and around $ 200 billion in cash, the company has the opportunity not only to reject the money received from Google, but also to invest in the server infrastructure necessary for the creation of a competitive search engine.
It is also worth noting that Apple has always tried to own and control the most important components of its products, from the custom chips that power everything from the iPhone to your AirPods and watch accessories, to tight integration between your software and your hardware.
Yet for more than ten years, Apple has kept Google as the default search engine for the iPhone.
It took regulators to force him to choose between defending his relationship with Google or turning against his former search partner, to push the tech giant to seek change.