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According to reports, multiple people familiar with the matter said today that Microsoft considered selling its Bing search engine to Apple around 2020 in order to allow Apple to abandon Google search on iOS devices.
Microsoft executives met with Apple services chief Eddy Cue to discuss the possibility of selling Bing to Apple, these people said. But in the end, the negotiations were only tentative and did not enter the in-depth discussion stage.
The two companies have discussed making Bing Search the default search engine on iOS devices for years, although Apple ultimately stuck with Google Search. But now, as the U.S. Department of Justice is waging a legal battle with Google over claims that the company has abused its dominance in search, the talks between Microsoft and Apple have taken on new significance.
As for the Google lawsuit, the relationship between Apple and Google is at the heart of the case. Because Google pays Apple billions of dollars every year to ensure that its search engine becomes the default option on iPhones and other iOS devices.
Representatives for Microsoft and Apple declined to comment.
Microsoft launched Bing Search in 2009 to challenge rival Google, but failed to gain much market share. Today, Google still dominates the industry, while Bing’s share is less than 10%.
Today, both Apple and Microsoft are involved in the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Google. The lawsuit is ongoing and executives from both companies have taken the stand. The Justice Department said the deal between Google and Apple was evidence that Google unfairly dominated the search market. But in testimony earlier this week, Apple executive Eddy Cue refuted that claim, saying Apple uses Google search because it’s the best option available.
Apple and Google reached their first search engine agreement back in 2002, when Apple released Safari, the first Mac web browser. Over time, the agreement expanded to other Apple devices, most notably the iPhone. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Apple received between $4 billion and $7 billion annually from this arrangement by 2020.
Today, the agreement between the two companies covers the Safari web browser on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Apple will receive a certain percentage of the revenue Google earns from the Safari browser on the above-mentioned devices.
People familiar with the matter said that the huge revenue generated by the Google transaction was a key reason why Apple refused to acquire Bing. In addition, Apple is worried that Bing will not match the quality and capabilities of Google search.
Still, Apple uses Bing search for some parts of its business. From 2013 to 2017, Bing became the default search engine for Apple’s voice assistants Siri and Spotlight. Spotlight is a search feature from the iPhone and iPad home screen. But Apple resumed working with Google in 2017 as part of an updated revenue-sharing agreement, although Bing remains an option for Safari searches.
Last night, Microsoft business development executive Jon Tinter told the court that in 2016, Microsoft also considered investing billions of dollars in Apple to make Bing the default search engine on Apple devices. At that time, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Apple CEO Tim Cook also held talks about this.
Currently, Google remains the search engine for Siri and Spotlight, and is the default option for Safari. During his testimony, Eddy Cue said that the Apple and Google deal was extended in 2021. It’s been a year or more since Microsoft considered selling Bing to Apple.
Eddy Cue also hinted that Bing’s technology is not as good as Google’s. He said he didn’t know how the talks with Google would end if they broke down.
Analysts say that if Apple does acquire Bing, it is unlikely to simply integrate it into its own platform. In previous acquisitions, Apple built a new feature after purchasing basic technology and resources.
Eddy Cue emphasized in his testimony that Apple saw no need to develop its own search tool because Google was clearly the best choice. This is different from Apple’s approach in other areas, such as mapping software, voice assistants, and mobile phone and computer operating systems, all of which compete with Google.
Source: Sina.com
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