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Google Paid Apple $1B to Keep Search Bar on iPhone

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Re: Google Paid Apple $1B to Keep Search Bar on iPhone

#41

Post by ascagnel_ »

adventured wrote: post #16
Animats wrote: post #11

Google also used to pay Mozilla to be the search engine there, until Yahoo outbid them. It's amazing that Google search, which is quite useful, has negative market value as content. In the cable TV world, there are channels cable systems pay to carry, such as ESPN, and channels that pay to be carried, such as the Jewelry Channel. How did Google end up in the latter category?

You're mistaking the context. You first acknowledged that Yahoo had to outbid Google to replace their search engine, which properly recognizes the situation: Google is replaced when it's outbid, or the real-estate owner otherwise has a better value gain to be had from other options. In the case of Apple, they have numerous other highly valuable directions they could go with a piece of real estate on the iPhone, inclu…

It's worth noting that non-search bar system searches (eg through Siri) are run through Bing. I'm not aware if this was a policy decision (give less power to Google) or a monetary decision (MS paid in an effort to push up Bing's numbers).

Re: Google Paid Apple $1B to Keep Search Bar on iPhone

#42

Post by ascagnel_ »

melted wrote: post #8
evanriley wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought Siri only used Bing because Google doesn't allow services like Siri to use google.com?

Pretty much. And Apple had to roll its own maps because Google would not allow Siri to use maps. Apple Maps are pretty darn good by now, so I think it's safe to assume that Apple started building their own search engine for Siri well before it made a deal with Microsoft, and Bing is a stop-gap measure. Apple likes to own its core technologies.

Not really -- the Apple Maps vs Google Maps trouble started when Google refused to allow turn-by-turn directions until Apple started turning over more user data. If I remember right, Apple Maps launched "early" (before the deal with Google expired) in an effort to put Apple into a more powerful negotiating position.

Re: Google Paid Apple $1B to Keep Search Bar on iPhone

#43

Post by goatforce5 »

melted wrote: post #8
evanriley wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought Siri only used Bing because Google doesn't allow services like Siri to use google.com?

Pretty much. And Apple had to roll its own maps because Google would not allow Siri to use maps. Apple Maps are pretty darn good by now, so I think it's safe to assume that Apple started building their own search engine for Siri well before it made a deal with Microsoft, and Bing is a stop-gap measure. Apple likes to own its core technologies.

And if they don't control it, it makes sense for them to have multiple viable alternatives. i.e., spread the money around and don't let one player get too powerful.

Re: Google Paid Apple $1B to Keep Search Bar on iPhone

#44

Post by akvadrako »

acchow wrote: post #36
such_a_casual wrote: post #6

Title is misleading. Google didn't pay up front to keep the search bar, but rather agreed to share a percentage of the revenue generated, which ended up being $1B.

The title should be changed to reflect this

why? It's effectively the same thing, except the risk profile is different. The resulting revenue wasn't a complete mystery so they probably knew the deal equaled about 1 billion.

Re: Google Paid Apple $1B to Keep Search Bar on iPhone

#45

Post by rokhayakebe »

babuskov wrote: post #40
wodenokoto wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't agree. An iPhone without search is a really poor smartphone. An iPhone without Kik is not a poor smartphone. Few people consider yahoo or bing search comparable in quality to google. So what parent finds odd, is that Apple is asking the best in class to pay them, to improve their product.

Many people don't consider search quality at all and just use what's served to them. I understand that someone reading HN would find that hard to believe, but when I look at some people around me who are not working in tech - many wouldn't be able to tell difference between Bing and Google search results. All they know is they can type/say a query and get the site they are looking for. The only time they would start…

many wouldn't be able to tell difference between Bing and Google

Tested and true.

Re: Google Paid Apple $1B to Keep Search Bar on iPhone

#46

Post by kuschku »

ck425 wrote: post #22
notatoad wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cable TV is a fundamentally wrong analogy here, because there is only one search bar and only one default search provider, not a near-infinite number of channels to be filled. Being the default search engine on iPhone means you can generate a lot of revenue, and so it is a valuable position to sell. As you say, Google got outbid by Yahoo a couple years ago for Firefox. If Google weren't paying, apple would sell the s…

I don't use an iPhone so have to ask, can users not select the search engine they want to use? Oneplus tried to change the default search on their phones to Bing and the first thing I did was switch back to Google.

On iOS — in contrast to Android — you can actually change the default search provider, yes.

(On Android you can't change it at all. And so I'm either stuck with a Google search on the Recents menu, or the "this widget could not be found" message)

Re: Google Paid Apple $1B to Keep Search Bar on iPhone

#47

Post by caskance »

Ntrails wrote: post #27
zem wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yes, but a vast number of users tend to stick with the defaults.

Until the default changes and those of us who don't like change will learn to make the effort to revert back. I have no idea if google is actually a better search engine, just that it's a familiar one.

For most searches the average person does - aka I want to go to the wikipedia page or official site for X - the results are indistinguishable.

Re: Google Paid Apple $1B to Keep Search Bar on iPhone

#48

Post by MonadQueen »

Animats wrote: post #11

Google also used to pay Mozilla to be the search engine there, until Yahoo outbid them. It's amazing that Google search, which is quite useful, has negative market value as content. In the cable TV world, there are channels cable systems pay to carry, such as ESPN, and channels that pay to be carried, such as the Jewelry Channel. How did Google end up in the latter category?

Maybe they were just playing two moves ahead. Let dying Yahoo spend money it doesn't have. Nobody's second-choice search engine is Yahoo. For me, and probably most of us here, it's either Bing (which is very good!) or DuckDuckGo.

Re: Google Paid Apple $1B to Keep Search Bar on iPhone

#49

Post by mbreese »

akvadrako wrote: post #44
acchow wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The title should be changed to reflect this

why? It's effectively the same thing, except the risk profile is different. The resulting revenue wasn't a complete mystery so they probably knew the deal equaled about 1 billion.

But the deal wasn't Google giving Apple $1B to be the default search on iOS. It was Google giving Apple a 34% share (perhaps - it's still a bit unclear in the article) of iOS search revenue. It is still a deal worth ~ $1B, but not a deal for $1B.

The context is important. If the number is 34%, then Google's iOS revenue would be around $3B, of which Apple got a cut.

Re: Google Paid Apple $1B to Keep Search Bar on iPhone

#50

Post by will_brown »

Consultant32452 wrote: post #37
anfroid555 wrote: post #32

Oracle is really letting out Google secrets. First Android earnings, now this. Both said not to be public knowledge. Google going to go after oracle now?

How are they not being found in contempt?

There are two types of contempt (civil and criminal) and as a general rule contempt is triggered by violating a Court's Order(s). What Court Order has been violated?
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