Apple has reportedly considered introducing new search engines into its devices, according to several corporate claims. This information was revealed by the US Department of Justice during its antimonopoly process against Google. The case highlights the agreement between Apple and Google, in which Google pays billions of dollars annually to remain the main search engine in iOS.
John Dzhannandrea, the senior vice president of Apple, testified that negotiations to acquire Bing from Microsoft and establish partnerships with Duckduckgo were conducted in 2018 and 2020. As part of their assessment, Apple experts compared the search accuracy of Bing and Google and found Bing to be inferior overall, but similar in desktop versions.
Although Apple had previously used Bing in some products between 2013 and 2017, the collaboration with Google proved to be more profitable, generating an annual income of about $19 billion. Furthermore, Apple had discussions with Duckduckgo regarding the use of their technology in Safari.
While Apple considered a potential deal with Microsoft, representatives admitted during the trial that Bing was used strategically to increase rates and generate more revenue from Google. This tactic was acknowledged by Mikhail Parakhin, Technology Director at Microsoft, who stated, “It is not news that thanks to the existence of Bing, Apple earns more than Bing itself.”