Apple is allegedly working on a new search engine that could replace Google on its devices and in particular on iPhone: here are the clues
Apple's search engine, capable of replacing Google on all iPhones, could arrive in the near future. To prove it could be some features already present in iOS 14, the new version of Cupertino's operating system launched last month. What will it look like? It's hard to say but it's already possible to make some predictions.
Behind Apple's move to abandon Google in favor of a proprietary search engine would be to search for the uncomfortable position assumed by the Mountain View giant, at least from the legal point of view. The company founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin and currently led by Sundar Pichai has in fact entered the crosshairs of the U.S. Department of Justice for anti-competitive practices. Before getting entangled in particularly long-standing legal issues, especially from the economic point of view, Apple would have decided to take a step back and launch itself alone in this new and exciting adventure.
Apple, the new search engine
The leaked information, as it usually happens for this kind of top secret developments, are still few. What is certain, at least according to the Financial Time that has subdued the presence of some major news, is that in 2018 Apple has hired among its ranks John Giannandrea, former Head of Research at Google, with the position of Head of Machine Learning and AI at Apple.
So, making a quick calculation, the project could have started already two years ago, feedback that could be found in the improved functionality of the voice assistant Siri. Other evidence, obviously not confirmed, would be the multiple job ads for developers to be dedicated to research launched by the Cupertino headquarters.
Last but not least signal is the one launched by Applebot. Apple's web-crawler (an algorithm that scans the Web for new pages and indexes them) would have been particularly active and lively in the last months, at least compared to the past, foreshadowing a leap in level that would go beyond the ability to provide the search results of Siri and Spotlight.
If what the American press hypothesizes is true, then, it's not so far-fetched to think that "Apple Search" could see the light along with iPhone 13. But there's still a year to find out.
Apple and Google, the billionaire agreement
The economic issue behind the break between Google and Apple is certainly no small matter. The Cupertino's company receives from the Mountain View's one an amount between 8 and 12 billion dollars every year to allow the presence of the Big G's search engine on all its devices.
So, breaking such a contract is not a small thing even when we talk about giants of this size. The fact is, however, that Apple has drawn a lot of criticism, validating in practice the anti-competitive behavior just through the billionaire agreement. The change of course, even if extremely expensive, could be for Cupertino the only chance to get out of a fight with unpredictable consequences.