The Cupertino-based tech titan Apple is reportedly working on its own web-based search engine. There is a chance that Apple might move away from its current financial arrangement with Google and use its own default search engine for iOS, iPadOS and Mac devices, according to a new report. The company is allegedly making these strategic steps that indicate the rumored web-based search engine could be happening soon.
Recently Coywolf's John Henshaw reported several factors increasingly pointing to the Cupertino company expanding Siri search results. The report claimed that it is currently unclear if Siri Suggestions still uses Google. Moreover, Spotlight Search is back, which serves as the platform for seeking results instead of using alternative engines.
Apple Insider reported that it conducted its own test on Thursday to check the report. "Some outgoing and return traffic to and from Google for Siri Suggestions in iOS 14 passed through our router," the site claimed. "The same search terms in iOS 13 pulled nearly entirely from Google, Apple Insider added.
Further, the report claimed that Apple could be heavily investing in search-related fields based on the recent job listings of the company. Apart from those, the Applebot web crawler page for web developers received an update last June. The update rolled out changes, including the verification technique from Applebot's traffic source, the report added.
I think something is up with @Apple and that they might be preparing to compete against @Google Search.https://t.co/6S4z2WCRon — Jon Henshaw (@henshaw) August 27, 2020
While multiple pieces of evidence suggest there is an increase in factors hinting on the imminent launch of Apple's own web-based search engine, these are unofficial yet. Apple's engine could weaken the search engine giant's stranglehold on search, Henshaw suggested. Apple's web-based search engine could also offer better promotion for Apple services and tighten the company's hold over software stack and hardware.
An Apple web-based search engine could also enable developers to promote software and apps in larger search results beyond the App Store searches. On the financial aspect, it could mean losing billions of dollars per year that Apple receives from Google for the privilege. It could also potentially draw extra antitrust attention from regulators, particularly at a time when demands for investigations and testimonies are at their all-time high.
However, Henshaw also noted that Apple's web-based search engine may not launch at all since everything is based on observation. It is possible that macOS, iPadOS and iOS devices users might not be aware that they are already using it, clueless of where the search results are coming from.
