Google is the default search engine in Apple’s Safari. But, that deal could come to an end due to an antitrust investigation.
Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google and Apple Puts Default Search Engine Deal in Jeopardy
United States Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit is just around the corner and that could put the default search engine deal between Apple and Google in trouble, according to The Information.
Right now, when you set up an iPhone, iPad or Mac, there’s no screen that asks you which search engine you want to use as default in Safari. That is because Google pays Apple more than $20 billion per year to keep it that way. That’s a huge amount of money, but this is extremely important for Google from a revenue point of view as Google has the potential of losing 70% of search share if the default option is kicked away.
At the same time, Apple will stop receiving its cheque of money from the search giant since the choice will lie with the consumer.
Google has been working hard to bring users over to its own apps on Apple’s platform such as Chrome and Search, and it makes perfect sense to do that as the lawsuit looms. But, Google hasn’t been that successful in migrating too many users over. It seems as though users love the Safari browser.
If the antitrust lawsuit finds Apple and Google in violation, eventually Apple will simply throw in a new splash screen, asking users which search engine they want to use as default. Surprisingly, this option actually exists, and it is hidden away in the Settings app.
The user may not notice this change that much since Google will always be the ‘search company’ and will likely choose them when they do see the option. But from a business standpoint, it’s not good news for both parties.
