Apple has quietly stepped up its efforts to develop search technology for iPhones, according to a report in the British Financial Times on Wednesday.
The report on Apple's search efforts comes as regulators scrutinise the billions of dollars in payments Google makes each year to ensure that its search engine is installed as a default search tool.
And when iPhone users with the latest iOS 14 type a query in the search window, Apple now displays its search results instead of Google search results. It also offers auto-complete style suggestions, highlighting how to learn from users' most popular search queries. However, few users are likely to have noticed the change.
The US Justice Department launched a lawsuit last week over Google's payments to Apple as the default search tool for the iPhone. The Ministry of Justice cites "general estimates" that say: Google pays Apple between $ 8 billion and $ 12 billion annually to be the default search engine for Apple products.
Apple's search offer will provide it with an alternative to Google search if the authorities decide to block the partnership. The Justice Department case added more urgency to the company's research efforts, according to the Financial Times, which cites search marketing experts who say the company's Applebot - the web program used to build a database of online material - is becoming more active. newly.
Apple has hired a number of research experts in recent years. The Cupertino-based company hired John Gianandrea - who is head of Google's search department - in April 2018, and the company publishes job ads for search engineers relatively frequently.
