Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#21

Post by api » Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 9:08 PM UTC

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #17

giarc wrote: post #10

Scott Galloway talked about this in a recent Pivot Podcast. He predicts it will launch after the US DOJ announces anti-trust actions against Google. If they do it soon, Google will just point to Apple to say "We aren't the only game in town... this $2 trillion dollar company just launched a search engine on a few billion phones/tablets/PCs around the world." They have reason to wait.

Monopolist in one market refrains from competing in another market in order to weaponize antitrust investigation into competitor from a third market.

All rules will be gamed. No exceptions.

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#22

Post by elliekelly » Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 9:08 PM UTC

onion2k wrote: post #5

It's always a tempting story - Apple have the resources, they could make a lot of money from making it the Safari and iOS default, and they're pushing in to services for growth, but people have been suggesting that Apple will launch a search engine "soon" for at least a decade. It hasn't happened yet and there's no particularly significant reason to believe it'll happen now. That said, it would be nice if Google had…

> Search really hasn't changed in any fundamental or even noticeable way for a long time.

Perhaps I’m cynical but I do think search has changed in fundamental and noticeable ways in the last five years but none of the change has been for the better. More ads, more “personalized” with more tracking, more results based on what the algorithm thinks I mean instead of what I’ve actually typed. I much preferred Google circa 2006 when it was much more intuitive and much less “innovative.”

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#23

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 9:11 PM UTC

summitsummit wrote: post #19

adoxyz wrote: post #6

If it's anything like Siri, I'll pass. Went back to the iOS ecosystem last year after being in Android/Google land for the past decade. I used Google Assistant on a daily basis easily 20-30 times and 99% of the time it got me what I needed. Siri can't even do a 1/10th of the things I used GA for, and that 1/10th that it does, it does so poorly that I don't even bother anymore.

i've learned to use siri by knowing the select few commands it understands and memorizing the wording. modifying myself to conform to the tool.

[deleted]

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#24

Post by adoxyz » Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 9:12 PM UTC

adwww wrote: post #13

adoxyz wrote: post #6

If it's anything like Siri, I'll pass. Went back to the iOS ecosystem last year after being in Android/Google land for the past decade. I used Google Assistant on a daily basis easily 20-30 times and 99% of the time it got me what I needed. Siri can't even do a 1/10th of the things I used GA for, and that 1/10th that it does, it does so poorly that I don't even bother anymore.

What sort of tasks were you using GA for? I use mine to turn a smart plug on or off, and set a timer when cooking. Nothing else I've ever wanted to do via my Pixel 2 is reliable enough to waste time trying. Sending a WhatsApp while driving is the one thing I keep wanting to do, but it's hopeless.

Basic things that I feel like should be trivial for Siri to handle. The biggest issue by far is how bad the voice dictation is for sending messages. It almost never gets it right.

I'm not opposed to an Apple search engine if it works. Would happily use it. But the way Siri has stagnated doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence for me.

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#25

Post by novok » Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 9:13 PM UTC

adwww wrote: post #13

adoxyz wrote: post #6

If it's anything like Siri, I'll pass. Went back to the iOS ecosystem last year after being in Android/Google land for the past decade. I used Google Assistant on a daily basis easily 20-30 times and 99% of the time it got me what I needed. Siri can't even do a 1/10th of the things I used GA for, and that 1/10th that it does, it does so poorly that I don't even bother anymore.

What sort of tasks were you using GA for? I use mine to turn a smart plug on or off, and set a timer when cooking. Nothing else I've ever wanted to do via my Pixel 2 is reliable enough to waste time trying. Sending a WhatsApp while driving is the one thing I keep wanting to do, but it's hopeless.

Siri often fails even switching lights on and off, it can be very idiosyncratic in how it does and interprets stuff

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#26

Post by ramenmeal » Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 9:13 PM UTC

adwww wrote: post #13

adoxyz wrote: post #6

If it's anything like Siri, I'll pass. Went back to the iOS ecosystem last year after being in Android/Google land for the past decade. I used Google Assistant on a daily basis easily 20-30 times and 99% of the time it got me what I needed. Siri can't even do a 1/10th of the things I used GA for, and that 1/10th that it does, it does so poorly that I don't even bother anymore.

What sort of tasks were you using GA for? I use mine to turn a smart plug on or off, and set a timer when cooking. Nothing else I've ever wanted to do via my Pixel 2 is reliable enough to waste time trying. Sending a WhatsApp while driving is the one thing I keep wanting to do, but it's hopeless.

I ask my google assistant random questions. "How long does Orange Juice last in the fridge?", "What is ____". I'm pretty sure it just uses Google Search's featured snippets, but it's usually correct and understands me. Like the other poster, I wouldn't bother asking Siri the same questions.

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#27

Post by novok » Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 9:13 PM UTC

giarc wrote: post #10

Scott Galloway talked about this in a recent Pivot Podcast. He predicts it will launch after the US DOJ announces anti-trust actions against Google. If they do it soon, Google will just point to Apple to say "We aren't the only game in town... this $2 trillion dollar company just launched a search engine on a few billion phones/tablets/PCs around the world." They have reason to wait.

Wouldn’t the same logic apply to bing today?

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#28

Post by criddell » Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 9:14 PM UTC

adwww wrote: post #13

adoxyz wrote: post #6

If it's anything like Siri, I'll pass. Went back to the iOS ecosystem last year after being in Android/Google land for the past decade. I used Google Assistant on a daily basis easily 20-30 times and 99% of the time it got me what I needed. Siri can't even do a 1/10th of the things I used GA for, and that 1/10th that it does, it does so poorly that I don't even bother anymore.

What sort of tasks were you using GA for? I use mine to turn a smart plug on or off, and set a timer when cooking. Nothing else I've ever wanted to do via my Pixel 2 is reliable enough to waste time trying. Sending a WhatsApp while driving is the one thing I keep wanting to do, but it's hopeless.

I used to use GA to set reminders, then Google killed that for paid users for some reason.

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#29

Post by sroussey » Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 9:16 PM UTC

How would apple monetize this search engine?

I don’t completely trust Apple with doing ads as they already do plenty of self-dealing with their own ad system.

If anything, they should jedison their ad product altogether.

Re: Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

#30

Post by colinbartlett » Thu, Aug 27, 2020, 9:18 PM UTC

If privacy is the focus, could Apple acquire Duck Duck Go and get a head start? Or is there no reason to get a head start when you have virtually unlimited resources?