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There is apparently a paid search engine service.


I wonder how many people would subscribe if Apple were to ever launch such a service.

Google has also been exploring the possibility of a monthly paid subscription option for ad-free search.
 
Google has also been exploring the possibility of a monthly paid subscription option for ad-free search.

I’d pay. I’d love to be able to use an alternative engine like DDG, but DDG often doesn’t give me results that are as good, and since I need to use search in my job, if I don’t find something that was the third result on google but doesn’t show up on the first couple pages of DDG, that would be a real problem. (I gave DDG a thorough try for 6 months.)
 
Apple/Cook either don't think Google is as "evil" as some do OR do think Google is evil but are willing to ignore it for the right price (currently $10B+ a year).
This makes me think back to the years leading up to Steve Jobs’s death where he said that he was willing to go “thermonuclear” with Google and Samsung over their IP theft of the iPhone/iOS for android and how he said he was willing to spend the entire Apple war chest on litigation if necessary. After Jobs died, Cook backed off on litigation over the IP theft (an arguably good move since the courts have had a history of letting other letting Apple IP get stolen— EG: MS Windows being allowed to stealing elements of Mac OS GUI). It is sad, however, to see how much of a bean counter Cook is to do this “deal with the devil” with Google and leave a big privacy hole in the Apple ecosystem for Apple customers— especially considering how it is a move that would undoubtedly go against the wishes of Steve Jobs.
 
[…]). It is sad, however, to see how much of a bean counter Cook is to do this “deal with the devil” with Google and leave a big privacy hole in the Apple ecosystem for Apple customers— especially considering how it is a move that would undoubtedly go against the wishes of Steve Jobs.
Think it’s a good thing that Cook used logic not emotion to determine when to hold or fold.
 
If the other carpenter is happy with the deal then where's the issue exactly?
American competition law is relatively narrow, but in other countries an agreement to divide up the market is illegal just like price fixing is. OTOH, Apple wasn’t previously in the search business so it will be harder to prove harm to the economy or to consumers.
 
"Analyst argues..."

"Speculation ... resurfaces"

That's an interesting way to prove the accuracy of your point, as none of this information is coming from Apple.

Going into search would be entirely a defensive move for Apple the way creating Android was for Google/Alphabet.

As long as there is no real need to do so, my hunch is that Apple is more than happy to stay out of that market.

Speculation found on Macrumors. More on the top at 11
 
You’re using it wrong! :)
The way you ask will influence what you get.
The Google engine is way above anything out there and once you go past the Ads at the top you should be getting what you need.
In that case Google changed in ways that require me to change behaviour.

By the way, I specifically stated that noone else is better.
 
Google has also been exploring the possibility of a monthly paid subscription option for ad-free search.
I’d pay. I’d love to be able to use an alternative engine like DDG, but DDG often doesn’t give me results that are as good, and since I need to use search in my job, if I don’t find something that was the third result on google but doesn’t show up on the first couple pages of DDG, that would be a real problem. (I gave DDG a thorough try for 6 months.)
Neeva and any Google search subscription will be a niche product. You can already easily block all ads on Google, even cookies that track cross-site. In addition, the ads on Google are contextual. They're highly related to your search. And they often offer deals that do not exist on organic results because companies want to convert you immediately by giving you a better discount. I have ad-block on every site other than Google search for this reason/

@cmaier, I'm surprised that Google ads affect your work-related searches as you are a chip designer. As a software engineer, I rarely see ads because my searches are extremely specific to software-related issues, aka super long-tail keywords. I generally only see ads when I need a service or product which is the right time to show me ads.

I, for one, would not welcome a paid subscription or higher tier for Google. I think Google being free is better for the world. In today's world, most decent news publications are now behind a paywall. This means all the crap news sites remain free, which means most of society is reading crap. I don't want that to happen to search.
 
No. Google is blocking Apple through money to let them compete against them. Imagine paying another carpenter in your city yearly for not working so you can have the entire market for yourself and charge whatever you want. Its gross capitalism and it needs to be stopped.
Apple can’t just say no?
 
Why should it? Having a business decision to not be in the search engine business turned out to be a bonanza for Apple.
That’s not what you were asked. Further to that having a search engine may actually have turned out to be more beneficial. What do you have to suggest this was the better way to go?
Not a lot I suspect.
 
Ah yes, saying no to literally free money. I'm sure shareholders will love that idea :)

So, what you are basically saying is that it's ok for a company to puts its users' privacy/usage data at "risk", in Apple's case by making Google search the default, as long as it's for money and shareholders?

I guess then it must be equally ok for Google to puts its users' privacy/usage data at "risk" as they also do it for money and shareholders.

Apple and Google are both doing the same types of thing here for the same reasons - money and shareholders.
 
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Too bad Apple loses ground by taking 9 billion I think a year from Google for keeping Google the default search engine
How is Apple losing ground? Sure, they lose out on $9B, but if in the end it betters the user experience (in the long run), I am all for this investigation.
 
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