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Microsoft Considered Selling Bing to Apple in 2020

Back in 2020, Microsoft considered selling its Bing search engine to Apple, reports Bloomberg. Had the acquisition happened, Bing would have replaced Google as the default search engine on Apple devices..
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I don't believe that. Per Eddy Cue, Apple put Google as the default search engine because it's the best.

Why would Apple have Bing as the default when it's not the best?
 
Am I having false memories, or wasn't Bing the search engine for Siri when it first launched? I seem to remember that it wasn't until the next year that it started using Google.

Not sure Apple would do any better job than Microsoft is doing. And Google is getting steadily worse, so everyone is settling toward a mediocre medium.

And chat bots aren't the answer, they're just searching the search engine for you.
 
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google is pretty good for doing basic academic research but for most people all these engines should be sufficient
 
I'm confused, "... Google and Apple last inked a deal in 2021, facilitated by Cue, and as of 2020, Apple was collecting $4 billion and $7 billion annually from Google..."

What is the "and"? There was no comparison or two sets of items before this?

I think it's supposed to be "TO":
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swingerofbirch said:
Didn't stop them from pushing Apple Maps when it was still half-baked.
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sw1tcher said:
I don't believe that. Per Eddy Cue, Apple put Google as the default search engine because it's the best.

Why would Apple have Bing as the default when it's not the best?
Click to expand...
Obviously if Apple has their own app in the game, they’re not going to make the competitors’ app the default over it. So if Cue was thorough, he would have said Google was the best search engine AND Apple didn’t have a dog in the search engine race. Why Apple chose to get into maps but not search, I don’t know.
 
I’ve been using DDG for years and it’s pretty good nowadays. I supplement it with ChatGPT for more complex queries. Rarely, if I’m really stuck with researching something, I’ll open Chrome and Google and run a search. But I find myself doing that less and less, especially since ChatGPT came out.
 
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I wish this had happened. Apple slowly figured out Maps after about ten years (after firing Scott Forstall for not getting it right immediately). They could figure out search too.
 
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I would have thought Apple acquiring DuckDuckGo would have made more sense, since they’re both all about privacy etc..
 
CarAnalogy said:
I keep forgetting about Bing Rewards. Apparently even paying me isn't enough.
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It honestly isn't half bad. I usually rack up enough points for an Amazon gift card or something before long. Edge wouldn't be half bad either, if they stopped forcing down our throats and collecting mountains of data.
 
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That would have been interesting if it happened and in 2020 (a year of many interesting deals).
 
sack_peak said:
The sale could have been nixed due to anti-trust concerns. This is likely why many big companies have to diversify away from their strengths.
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What antitrust concerns would there have been? Apple wasn't really in the search engine business and Bing was (and still is) a fairly small player in that market.
 
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I definitely wonder when Apple will stop taking Google’s money and create their own search engine. It definitely seems like over the years, Apple wants to do everything in-house. So I wonder when Apple’s search engine will come
 
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Supercyborgninja said:
Wish I could say DDG worked out, it sadly does not cut it. Really wish it did though. I do root for Bing cause I love Microsoft's focus on accessibility.
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Very occasionally I use "!g" in DuckDuck Go when it doesn't give me the depth I need. So I can use Google without being tracked. 99% of the time, though, it's fine.
 
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Supercyborgninja said:
Wish I could say DDG worked out, it sadly does not cut it. Really wish it did though. I do root for Bing cause I love Microsoft's focus on accessibility.
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Yup microsoft is definitely the precursor to google suite. As much as I disdain Xbox since that first fat controller onward, ya gotta tip your hat to those 1990 window days! Those glorious freezes and crashes and when it worked!…hook it to the veeeeeeinsssssss!!!!

cbaca51 said:
I definitely wonder when Apple will stop taking Google’s money and create their own search engine. It definitely seems like over the years, Apple wants to do everything in-house. So I wonder when Apple’s search engine will come
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lol it’s coming like theapple car, I can feel it…maybe they debut together?… but for now, it’s just Siri and her funny, deadpan delivery of jokes
 
Apples needs its own web search with new modern AI capabilities. Also deeply integrated in ecosystem.
 
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