Yeah, like the US doesn't have antitrust lawsuits / monopoly laws etc.
They're now trying to break up Google and Chrome.
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Apple Explains Why It Doesn't Plan to Create a Search Engine
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They're now trying to break up Google and Chrome.
You've listed five search engines I've never even heard of and at the same time you omitted DuckDuckGo, which is in my opinion the most aligned with Apple's privacy-first focus.
Not to knock Kagi (I renewed my annual subscription this week without a second thought) but they are serving up 500k hits a day to 35,000 subscribers. It's not hard to imagine that Apple device users perform that many requests each minute. The infrastructure -- hardware, software, staffing -- is at an entirely different scale, orders of magnitude larger.
For reference, Google serves 8 billion searches a day, just under 100k/second, or 43 years of Kagi searches.
Because that doesn't provide the best user experience.
Most non-techy users don't know. They just want the best one. As much as it irritates some people, including me, none of the other search engines come close to Google. [I avoid Google like the plague.] If you force people to choose from a randomized list and they don't get Google, they will eventually be frustrated by the results. A slightly more knowledgeable friend will show them how to switch to Google. And then we wind up with exactly the same as we are today: Google dominating with some very crappy search engines and their supporters crying monopoly.
Rather than prop up businesses which make half-hearted efforts and demand government-assured profits, leave the market alone and make the businesses compete.
But how do you compete in the search engine space when you can't even get on the list of pre-approved search eniges in Safari?
I respectfully disagree.
Baidu? Really?
The list is clearly from big companies paying Apple.
A "solution" to a non-problem to start with.
Those of us wanting search engine outside of the list already know what we are doing to begin with.
Microsoft to Apple: Buy our s****y search engine.
Apple: …no.
Microsoft to US government: Apple and Google are forming a trust!
Apple: …no.
Microsoft to US government: Apple and Google are forming a trust!
Blame the consumers who choose Google on every desktop or who made, "Googling," a verb.
If Apple were to leave the option open, "normal" users who just want to use a smartphone will suffer through another annoying onboarding process for search engine.
And if Apple just picks DDG or something, people will blame Apple for the poor results (I have no trouble using DDG, but normies might not know how to get the most out of it).
Easiest just to take that sweet, sweet, google search money.
And how is this in any way a "political" posting?
If Apple were to leave the option open, "normal" users who just want to use a smartphone will suffer through another annoying onboarding process for search engine.
And if Apple just picks DDG or something, people will blame Apple for the poor results (I have no trouble using DDG, but normies might not know how to get the most out of it).
Easiest just to take that sweet, sweet, google search money.
And how is this in any way a "political" posting?
Whatever.
I really don't care about search engines. I do care about using an adblocker.
I really don't care about search engines. I do care about using an adblocker.
The same way Firefox took over the market from IE well before the EU forced Microsoft to offer a randomized list of alternative browsers. You make a better product and word spreads.
The article to which this thread is attached is about Eddy Cue's declaration filed in court as part of an anti-trust case against Google and Apple. It is entirely political.
Missed in the sense that they should have started working on it sooner than they did so when they launched it the service was better. It took years to be a true competitor with Google Maps or any of the others. They still lag behind in so many areas (street view, updated map data, etc...) and it is all because of the late start in focusing on it. "Missed" in the sense of just delivering a lower quality product because of how late they started biting off such a massive effort, not "missed" as in didn't do it or didn't try and do it the Apple way
The EU would sue them if they did. Maybe Apple should just make and EU only OS with just basic phone features.
I mean that is a way of looking at it I guess, but is is warping things quite a bit. Apple is a business and thereby needs to sell stuff. They are mostly a consumer facing business and to that end gets a lot of people using their products. However, being an effective business and getting all those consumers, the same smart people know they can interact with other businesses and make money based on selling to them as well. I think it is quite a stretch to say that Apple started with the plan of building this elaborate ecosystem just so they can pair it with Google ad sales through a browser partnership. It feels more like it was something that occurred as a natural outcome of both entities moving down their respective paths and now both benefit from. I don't think "moral superiority" really comes into play. Apple can focus on bringing privacy to what they can control. They have already dramatically affected everyday life for Apple and non-Apple users. This can exist AND it can exist they do business with businesses that don't do what they do. So I guess that is a win-win as you said.
You're not exactly missing it, if that isn't a business you would do well in. Or well in yet. Search isn't something that Apple wants to do. Because once you get users to "use" it and collect as much data from that search to provide Ad's to end user in exchange for money from advertising. They have to take your "data" and pass it along to other companies to make money to fund the search and profit. Apple doesn't want to do that. And BING sucks. So we are left with Google which is not only the best, but they pay Apple to be the default. YOU CAN STILL CHANGE IT. But, its the default.
Maps? They made a Maps app. So, I guess that's just them being late to the game which they do somewhat often.
They are not often first, but if they enter a market. They try to be the best of it.
Ai (ML, Neural Engine) , well they have hardware that accelerates it. Used it for photographic processing and other software that could make use of it. Now they are pushing it to do more on the device. Rather than sending everything to the cloud. Again, to keep your data private and "faster". Kind of reinforces the point about not being in search.
I don't believe Apple would want to grant Google "ANY" kind of dominance. But they do have history on their side to learn from. When they tried to out compete Microsoft and failed. Why go down that path again? Google already pivited to copy iOS from the first iPhone. And succeeded. No real difference to Microsoft and Windows vs Mac OS. This time, instead of making enemies. The used the strength Google had in search, AND made money off of it. It's good business, and allows Apple to focus on other things. Invest in other areas.
It's not partisan is my point.
If people are seeing anti-trust in this context as a left or right issue, I think they are really in the political weeds.
Yes. What is your suggestion for Safari content? I think my extensions are slowing Safari down significantly.
Because people don't want to deal with another onboarding option and everyone will just take Google, anyway.
The people who know they don't want to use Google products and know why they don't want to use Google Search, specifically, will do it on their own.
I switch them all to DDG, and if the results don't match what I want, I append a !g to my search in DDG and it does a straight Google search without tracking.