Even bitter rivals have to work with their enemies occasionally. Google and Apple have been competing in some capacity since the iPhone and HTC Dream. They’ve also worked together on a variety of different projects, including the mobile web. Google has Chrome, and Apple has Safari, but there’s a price to pay to become a default search engine, and a new report suggests Google is paying it.
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
According to The Register, Google is paying Apple a portion of its iOS Chrome revenue to have Google Search as the default search engine in Safari. Many users download and use Google Chrome, bypassing Safari, but many do not. The arrangement seems to benefit both parties. Google maintains its Chrome user base and maintains search dominance on Safari. At the same time, Apple earns revenue by allowing Google Search to be its browser’s default search engine. Something Apple knows many will switch to anyway.
According to MacRumors, Google pays Apple approximately $15 billion annually for that place as the default search engine on Apple iOS devices. But now, this report indicates that Google is also paying Apple for searches done in its Chrome app for iOS. No numbers were disclosed, but here’s what MacRumors had to say.
The latest news that Google is purportedly paying Apple for searches in Chrome for iOS as part of a search revenue sharing deal is a new development. The revenue sharing agreement is said to be known about in detail by only a small number of people. The amount Google is paying Apple and the wider terms of the deal have been redacted from CMA reports.
Apple does not provide any obvious value to users seeking to use Google Search within Google Chrome for iOS. As a result, the CMA is concerned that the payments are designed to discourage Apple from competing with Google with its own search engine, which would have major ramifications for Google’s business model.
MacRumors
This behind-the-scenes business activity is certainly interesting, and deals like these are not uncommon.
What do you think of this arrangement? Please share your thoughts on any of the social media pages listed below. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network. Be sure to subscribe to our RUMBLE channel as well!
