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Apple showing signs it may soon launch a search engine

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

#171

Post by Ancapistani »

mgh2 wrote: post #55
dividedbyzero wrote: post #14

I hope they do – Google is far, far, far too dominant in this space, and small-ish incumbents don't really stand a chance. If they keep up their privacy-friendly stance, this could really become something neat. I'd like for at least a little bit of competition in the gatekeeper-for-human-knowledge space.

I honestly don't like my search results mingled with the advertising industry: there is bias in all results, you can't trust in information if it is not impartial. People used to create content to advance knowledge, but the amount of crap nowadays motivated my money (even if it is good quality) concerns me about the education of the human civilization as a whole. "The love of money (greed) is the root of all evil": G…

> "The love of money (greed) is the root of all evil": Google, Amazon, Facebook all are already deep down this hole. Apple might be the only company that still has some decency left.

While I largely agree with your impressions, I find it ironic to see Apple mentioned in that context. They are the third most valuable company on Earth, worth about $1.3 trillion: https://fxssi.com/top-10-most-valuable-companies-in-the-worl...

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

#172

Post by redisman »

kabes wrote: post #94
danudey wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe they should build their own indexing backend and buy up DuckDuckGo for the frontend/user base/etc.

Why would they? If Apple makes it the default search engine on iOS they immediately dwarf the ddg user base. And the front end is the easy part of a search engine.

UX is what has always set Apple apart. I don't see any universe where they would off-load that to a 3rd party.

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

#173

Post by mgh2 »

Ancapistani wrote: post #171
mgh2 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly don't like my search results mingled with the advertising industry: there is bias in all results, you can't trust in information if it is not impartial. People used to create content to advance knowledge, but the amount of crap nowadays motivated my money (even if it is good quality) concerns me about the education of the human civilization as a whole. "The love of money (greed) is the root of all evil": G…

> "The love of money (greed) is the root of all evil": Google, Amazon, Facebook all are already deep down this hole. Apple might be the only company that still has some decency left. While I largely agree with your impressions, I find it ironic to see Apple mentioned in that context. They are the third most valuable company on Earth, worth about $1.3 trillion: https://fxssi.com/top-10-most-valuable-companies-in-the-w…

There is a difference in how you make that money: the end does not justify the means. You can become rich by righteous means (although harder). Apple is not perfect, but at least for now, they did not sell out yet. Microsoft is a close 2nd, after some redemption lol

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

#174

Post by redisman »

dividedbyzero wrote: post #14

I hope they do – Google is far, far, far too dominant in this space, and small-ish incumbents don't really stand a chance. If they keep up their privacy-friendly stance, this could really become something neat. I'd like for at least a little bit of competition in the gatekeeper-for-human-knowledge space.

Google is also really bad these days. Sure they have impressive trivia features but searching for solid, reliable information is really crappy. The first page is always blogspam that seems like it's generated by a AI or someone who's being paid $5/h to write filler that doesn't quite count as SEO.

The only way I can find (non-programming) information that is 50% reliable rather than 10% reliable is to append "reddit" to any queries.

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

#175

Post by nostrademons »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #66
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.

This is interesting to me. As someone who works at Google, and is a huge Android fan (and Apple hater), I am constantly astounded at how bad Assistant seems to be for me, and how good Siri seems to be for my friends. Maybe I just speak really unclearly? Unfortunately, basically all of my friends have iPhones (even at Google), so it's hard to know if it's just me.

I've got a Pixel 4 for work and an iPhone 8 for personal. (I work at Google now, but had a long stretch where I was trying to de-Googlify.) It's no comparison - Assistant seems way better than Siri. About the only advantage Siri has is in the personality department...she seems a bit nicer, while Assistant literally has the personality of a robot.

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

#176

Post by mantap »

matthewmacleod wrote: post #103
mantap wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple maps is probably a good example because outside the US it is still useless, 8 years later. I don't expect an Apple search engine to be any different.

In the UK it’s broadly as effective as a mapping tool, in my experience. Better in many ways, even; Google Maps is rammed full of adverts to the point it’s actually kind of distracting. That’s not to mention the desktop app - it’s a step change in performance versus Google Maps being a sluggish browser experience.

In many parts of the world Apple maps is incapable to even give directions. I kid not. Go to e.g. Colombia and try to make directions between two places. It won't let you.

It just seems that Apple doesn't invest much in maps if they don't see a profit motive. They are very much capable of competing with Google Maps but they choose to build a more limited product that only works well in certain parts of the world where there are high concentrations of iPhone users. That's fine but it's not what I want in a maps app, I want consistency.

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

#177

Post by stevendaniels »

Ancapistani wrote: post #171
mgh2 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I honestly don't like my search results mingled with the advertising industry: there is bias in all results, you can't trust in information if it is not impartial. People used to create content to advance knowledge, but the amount of crap nowadays motivated my money (even if it is good quality) concerns me about the education of the human civilization as a whole. "The love of money (greed) is the root of all evil": G…

> "The love of money (greed) is the root of all evil": Google, Amazon, Facebook all are already deep down this hole. Apple might be the only company that still has some decency left. While I largely agree with your impressions, I find it ironic to see Apple mentioned in that context. They are the third most valuable company on Earth, worth about $1.3 trillion: https://fxssi.com/top-10-most-valuable-companies-in-the-w…

They are currently the most valuable company in the world: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/apple-now-wor...

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

#178

Post by slantaclaus »

machello13 wrote: post #2

> It is clear that Apple has started to return search results within Spotlight Search and is completely bypassing Google altogether. This isn't new in iOS 14, Spotlight has had a basic web search (supported by Apple's crawler) for several years.

Too bad Siri is developmentally challenged (“special”)

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

#179

Post by [deleted] »

mgh2 wrote: post #55
dividedbyzero wrote: post #14

I hope they do – Google is far, far, far too dominant in this space, and small-ish incumbents don't really stand a chance. If they keep up their privacy-friendly stance, this could really become something neat. I'd like for at least a little bit of competition in the gatekeeper-for-human-knowledge space.

I honestly don't like my search results mingled with the advertising industry: there is bias in all results, you can't trust in information if it is not impartial. People used to create content to advance knowledge, but the amount of crap nowadays motivated my money (even if it is good quality) concerns me about the education of the human civilization as a whole. "The love of money (greed) is the root of all evil": G…

[deleted]

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

#180

Post by bnj »

lern_too_spel wrote: post #154
saagarjha wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They aren't, but they make a decent amount of money from other things.

Exactly. They do things that make money. This removes a big source of money, adds a big cost, and worsens user experience. I'd love it if they made Apple Music and Apple TV free too.

I could see apple adding “Apple search” as a value add for a subscription service which includes music/tv...
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