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Google pays Apple $1B (or more)

techcrunch.com

11–20 of 27 posts

Re: Google pays Apple $1B (or more)

#11
post #2

They wouldn't pay it unless it made good business sense. And besides "just works" Apple wouldn't want to have to offer a subpar default search offering to their users. So it's always win-win.

> Apple wouldn't want to have to offer a subpar default search offering to their users

That's what people thought about maps, too.

Re: Google pays Apple $1B (or more)

#12
It makes perfect sense when you remember that the reason Android exists is to get users into the Google ecosystem, as a loss leader. iOS exists to sell expensive handsets. I don’t think Google cares what phone you have as long as all of your valuable data is in Google services and you’re viewing Google ads.

Re: Google pays Apple $1B (or more)

#14
post #8

But doesn't Siri use Bing? So this is only for Safari? Isn't it a weird experience if one app uses Google for search and another uses Bing?

It is, but is also a sign that Apple wants to commoditize search on the iPhone, weakening Google's position. All without stop receiving Google's billions of course.

Re: Google pays Apple $1B (or more)

#15
post #8

But doesn't Siri use Bing? So this is only for Safari? Isn't it a weird experience if one app uses Google for search and another uses Bing?

Not really, results are results. And they're usually pretty similar anyways. Also, consider that when searching with Siri, Apple is controlling the formatting of those results as well, so they will fit Apple's style, not Bing's.

When Siri decides your request needs web search results, it uses Bing by default. You can override this by asking Siri to "google search" for your term. The behavior is different in that it will open your default browser to a Google search results page.

Re: Google pays Apple $1B (or more)

#16
Isn't it interesting that the fight is between Google and Apple, while the consumer is the one holding the product in hand.

They did a extraordinary job of taking control over the final user. The user has the power ("ability" but let's exaggerate) to switch to any search engine they want, thwarting any decision these two companies make. But that's too complicated, let's leave it to the techies.

I really wish for a mandatory class in schools where students are demystified about computers.

Re: Google pays Apple $1B (or more)

#17
Suggest new title: "Google pays Apple $1B to remain default search engine (2014)"

There is no new story here. At all. The title is very misleading. Google paid Apple $1B in 2014, and they're digging this up to reuse old content. They speculate that the amount has grown since then.

Re: Google pays Apple $1B (or more)

#18
post #11
post #2

They wouldn't pay it unless it made good business sense. And besides "just works" Apple wouldn't want to have to offer a subpar default search offering to their users. So it's always win-win.

> Apple wouldn't want to have to offer a subpar default search offering to their users That's what people thought about maps, too.

I've actually switched, after a long time, to using Apple Maps as my default mapping application. It's good enough for 99.9% of the time. And I like its privacy-conscious construction.

Re: Google pays Apple $1B (or more)

#19

Isn't it interesting that the fight is between Google and Apple, while the consumer is the one holding the product in hand. They did a extraordinary job of taking control over the final user. The user has the power ("ability" but let's exaggerate) to switch to any search engine they want, thwarting any decision these two companies make. But that's too complicated, let's leave it to the techies. I really wish for a ma…

> They did a extraordinary job of taking control over the final user. The user has the power ("ability" but let's exaggerate) to switch to any search engine they want, thwarting any decision these two companies make.

This sounds less like someone taking power and more like everyone collectively ceding it. Part of this involves transaction costs. Relative to the minor gains many might expect from taking the time to switch search engines, the cost of learning how to do that is steep. Naturally, those economies scale favor Apple and Google.

Perhaps the switching cost isn't, or shouldn't be, as high for consumers. I think the solution is in education and lowering peoples' fears with tinkering with their tech. But another part of me thinks most people simply don't find such fiddling worth the bother.

Re: Google pays Apple $1B (or more)

#20

Isn't it interesting that the fight is between Google and Apple, while the consumer is the one holding the product in hand. They did a extraordinary job of taking control over the final user. The user has the power ("ability" but let's exaggerate) to switch to any search engine they want, thwarting any decision these two companies make. But that's too complicated, let's leave it to the techies. I really wish for a ma…

I work in an elementary school in technology and I follow this space very closely. I can confidently tell you we are moving in the opposite direction. While arguably there has never been as much talked about “computer science” as there is now, we’re fueling this growth by essentially removing just about any computer science that was left in these courses.
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