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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

#181

Post by bnj »

brian-armstrong wrote: post #75
nostrademons wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[Disclaimer: I work on Google Assistant. I just started though; I'm much more of a user than an engineer at this point.] I use it a lot for media stuff. "Play by ", "Watch on Netflix", etc. My wife is very fond of the combined alarm + YouTube functionality: "Wake me up at 7:00 AM with deep meditation music". My toddler has learned to say "Hey Google watch videos of dump trucks". I use it a bunch for basic productivit…

On what planet is talking to your phone easier or faster than taking 2 seconds to tap the your email app and skim the headers O_o

Does it need to be faster or does it just need to feel faster?

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

#182

Post by coopsmgoops »

cblconfederate wrote: post #108
hellofunk wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are transitioning as iPhone sales stabilize. https://www.barrons.com/articles/apple-stock-services-busine... It’s not all about the hardware anymore.

there's no way they 'll make the premiums they have with software. There isn't even content with such margins.

Guess they should just do nothing then? Diversity in buisness is important. And Google has a whole pie from which apple can steal a big chunk of. Simply set apple search to be the default on safari and you immediately have a huge chuck of the market.

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

#183

Post by kiwijamo »

frio wrote: post #145
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.

Depends where you are, I guess? I'd've thought NZ's little backwater roads would be useless still, but Apple Maps has been fine for me for a long time now. I still occasionally use Google (Apple doesn't integrate cycling information where I live), but it's very very rare these days.

NZ coverage is pretty decent in Apple Maps. I went to the Far North a few weeks back. Was staying with family. They just moved into a new house in a new area--maybe say 6 months to a year ago. Apple Maps had their address, whereas their street was nowhere to be found in Google Maps (just an outline which I assume they derived from satellite images?). Overall I find both have gaps--so neither have perfect coverage. As a Android owner I use Google Maps, and my husband has an Apple and uses Apple Maps. We consult with each other's maps on a regular basis since we don't really trust either!

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

#185

Post by hellofunk »

cblconfederate wrote: post #108
hellofunk wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are transitioning as iPhone sales stabilize. https://www.barrons.com/articles/apple-stock-services-busine... It’s not all about the hardware anymore.

there's no way they 'll make the premiums they have with software. There isn't even content with such margins.

It's not just software -- it's services of a wide variety of types. I.e. Apple TV+ is not software. Having your own search engine allows you to integrate with services more tightly and enhance that business.

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

#186

Post by akmarinov »

PossiblyKyle wrote: post #169
akmarinov wrote: post #37

No, thanks. Apple is notoriously horrible when it comes to localization: Apple Maps (localization, regional maps, regional traffic data, turn by turn), iOS supported languages, Siri supported languages, their new Apple Translate that only has 7-8 languages, Spotlight suggestions, etc. They're also very slow to expand their services, I think Apple News still only supports 4 countries. Just buy DuckDuckGo

You can’t compare them to Google, almost everything they do is exclusive to the US. They seriously treat the rest of the world as an afterthought

Yep, they have the Designed for California mindset down.

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

#187

Post by Tsarbomb »

djxfade wrote: post #118
akmarinov wrote: post #37

No, thanks. Apple is notoriously horrible when it comes to localization: Apple Maps (localization, regional maps, regional traffic data, turn by turn), iOS supported languages, Siri supported languages, their new Apple Translate that only has 7-8 languages, Spotlight suggestions, etc. They're also very slow to expand their services, I think Apple News still only supports 4 countries. Just buy DuckDuckGo

Yeah, as a non US citizen, this annoys me. Every year Apple announce a new cool feature, but I won't be able to use it for years. Like a lot of the Maps features, the News app, the better predictive keyboard, etc. Apple is the most valuable company in the world, they really have no excuse.

I mean they are doing something right if people are willingly buying their products while fully knowing they are deficient in features.

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

#188

Post by adwww »

criddell wrote: post #28
adwww wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yes, this annoys me so much still. THAT was my one killer use for it.

The effort of migrating an email address I've used for over a decade just to get this one feature back doesn't quite make sense, but I'm considering it...

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

#190

Post by dreamcompiler »

danudey wrote: post #65
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.

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

What we really need is a spider/database that's publicly-funded like PBS, with an open API that anyone can write search engines on top of. That's the way forward for search innovation.
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