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Apple's Eddy Cue Explains Why Google is iPhone's Default Search Engine

coolfactor said:
I've often tried to use DuckDuckGo as my default, but keep going back to Google. The results, especially in a generic private window, are much more accurate. I really wish there was a decent competitor, but Cue is right... Google is still the best for accurate search results.

I use Private browsing for most of my browsing, so generic (not logged in) searches are essential, and Google has it nailed.
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I've done the same. DuckDuckGo just isn't up to finding precise information reliably. Google does this far better. However, if I want to search anything that is even tangentially related to politics, then I use DuckDuckGo, as Google has decided that I can't be trusted to either hear dissenting opinions or to fashion my own searches.
 
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fatTribble said:
I switched to Ecosia over a year ago and never looked back. Before that I used Bing. Never found a need to search google for anything
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Whether this works or not really depends on your search usage and expectations.

1. For non-political speech, Google has more breadth and quality of search. Especially for technical stuff. You really are missing out by not using Google.

2. Google censors most if not all non-technical content. So you really can't use Google if you want something close to the truth. Of course if you don't mind only having access to censored content then Google is fine.
 
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I've not used Google as my main search engine for a few years now. I use Duckduckgo and it works well 99% of the time. The 1% I just type !g before my search and I'll go to Google. DDG used to be quite bad but it has improved enough for my to use it as my main search engine.

Whatever happened to the rumors of Apple making their own search engine?
 
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Get users "up and running as fast as possible." Right. With all the hoops one goes through too set up an iPhone. Need Wi-Fi even if you have enough cellular data? Heck, even wifi hotspot didn’t work until recently. Then you can’t finish setting up until you download and install the new update.
 
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cicalinarrot said:
Taking money from google to set their search engine that uses our data as default = selling our data.
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So exactly which data is sold?

Your IP address?
Your search term?

What do Google get from you which they wouldn't get if you manually went to their site?
 
RickDEGH said:
Get users "up and running as fast as possible." Right. With all the hoops one goes through to set up an iPhone. Need Wi-Fi even if you have enough cellular data? Heck, even wifi hotspot didn’t work until recently. Then you can’t finish setting up until you download and install the new update.
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If you have to go through all that hassle, it’s a good thing they don’t add another step where you have to choose your search engine, then.
 
bgillander said:
You might want to reread that post, as it seems like a compliment, not a complaint. And I don’t think he can change Safari in a minute to force you to log into Google to search, and that is a good thing.
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Exactly! It was a compliment.

I'm sure Google would have tried to pay Apple to include signing in with them as part of the iPhone onboarding process. Android phones all have this. Create an account/sign in to Samsung, for example, is also met with a create a Google account/sign in as a separate step in the onboarding process.
 
Razorpit said:
Money.
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It's one of those rare cases where it's just a win-win-win.


Google objectively has been the best search engine for almost 2 decades, so using it as default is a win for the consumer.

Google is paying Apple Billions every year, so it's a win for Apple.

Google gets to be on so many more devices, if it wasn't a win for them, they wouldn't pay this much for the privilege, so it's a win for Google as well.
 
Wowereit said:
It's one of those rare cases where it's just a win-win-win.

Google objectively has been the best search engine for almost 2 decades, so using it as default is a win for the consumer.

Google is paying Apple Billions every year, so it's a win for Apple.

Google gets to be on so many more devices, if it wasn't a win for them, they wouldn't pay this much for the privilege, so it's a win for Google as well.
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It’s not a "win" for competition if Apple is helping Google maintain or increase its search dominance by making it the default on Safari. That is one of the issues the DOJ is attempting to address in this case. Another is the possibility that dominant Google actually pays Apple to stay out of the search business.
 
webkit said:
It’s not a "win" for competition if Apple is helping Google maintain or increase its search dominance by making it the default on Safari. That is one of the issues the DOJ is attempting to address in this case. Another is the possibility that dominant Google actually pays Apple to stay out of the search business.
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If I take a look at how miserable using Siri is to this day, I doubt that they would be able to develop a competitive search engine.

Microsoft has a huge install base, is far more competent in terms of cloud and AI than Apple and has dumped tons of resources into Bing and it's still not gaining any market share.

Let's say at the first start of Safari it would show a dialogue to choose your browser engine:

Google
Bing
Yahoo
Duckduckgo
Yandex
Baidu

I'm convinced 95%+ of users would press Google. Nothing would change.
 
It’s also not a win if you’re not in to censored/manipulated search results.
 
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To Apple’s credit. I change the default browser away from Safari, no big deal every works fine. I change the default search engine away from Google , no big deal every works fine.

Now try that on Microsoft windows. Change the browser away from Edge or the search engine away from Bing, it like the world is ending. Changing those defaults is an involved multi step process, you can’t change one default in one place. Then there is the constant stream of nagging messages warnings you of dire consequences unless you change back. Finally, Microsoft will occasionally change back those defaults for you anyways.

So I’m fine with Apple taking Google’s money to set them as the default search engine. As long as Apple continues to let me easily change the default search engine, without any hassle.
 
Wowereit said:
If I take a look at how miserable using Siri is to this day, I doubt that they would be able to develop a competitive search engine.

Microsoft has a huge install base, is far more competent in terms of cloud and AI than Apple and has dumped tons of resources into Bing and it's still not gaining any market share.

Let's say at the first start of Safari it would show a dialogue to choose your browser engine:

Google
Bing
Yahoo
Duckduckgo
Yandex
Baidu

I'm convinced 95%+ of users would press Google. Nothing would change.
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I'm not so sure but it would be better answered if there was more open competition in search and not agreements between Google and companies like Apple which help Google maintain or increase its dominance.

Right now, according to Statcounter, U.S. search market share for Google is around 95% on mobile, 83% on tablet, and 79% on desktop.
 
Chuckeee said:
To Apple’s credit. I change the default browser away from Safari, no big deal every works fine. I change the default search engine away from Google , no big deal every works fine.

Now try that on Microsoft windows. Change the browser away from Edge or the search engine away from Bing, it like the world is ending. Changing those defaults is an involved multi step process, you can’t change one default in one place. Then there is the constant stream of nagging messages warnings you of dire consequences unless you change back. Finally, Microsoft will occasionally change back those defaults for you anyways.

So I’m fine with Apple taking Google’s money to set them as the default search engine. As long as Apple continues to let me easily change the default search engine, without any hassle.
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I've never had any issues or difficulties changing default browser and search settings on Windows. All of your default apps, which includes browsers, can easily be changed in one location and default searches can easily be changed on a browser by browser basis.
 
UltimaKilo said:
I don't get the arguments against it: 1. Google is paying Apple, which is good for Apple and 2. Google is still the best search engine, even with Bing's recent improvements

I remember when, before Yahoo! went under, Marissa Meyer sent a whole team to Apple to work out a deal to make Yahoo! the default search engine (at the time, Yahoo! was powered by Bing) and Apple shut them down, leaving the meeting unimpressed.

It would have been a huge coupe for Yahoo! and would have saved the company, along with Marissa's legacy, post Tumblr acquisition.
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Yeah, I try to be open-minded, but I agree. I’m not anymore surprised Apple has a deal with Google than I would be Coke having a partnership with McDonald’s. I’m sorry RC doesn’t have the presence to compete but them’s the breaks, that its a lucrative and beneficial choice both parties agree to doesn’t seem monopolistic or anti-competitive to me, other options are always available and indeed, other search engines have a presence and are thriving. I’m all for reigning in certain aspects of business and practices, but I also don’t agree with punishing companies just because they are the biggest or best in a field. Apple and Google are arguably the best in their respective fields (and objectively the best in some regards), it makes natural sense to have Google as a default search engine.

If the argument is that only Google can afford to pay the huge sums, it just sort of loops back to there being a reason for that.

Without getting political, I believe the problems people may have with this are better sorted in Congress and via changes in tax systems and codes. And even then it wouldn’t necessarily mean Google wouldn’t and shouldn’t still be able to negotiate with Apple and be the default search engine.
 
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