In 2022, Google reportedly paid around $20 Billion to Apple to become Safari’s default search engine on iPad, Mac, and iPhone.
The information was revealed in court documents provided by Google during their dispute with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) in an antitrust lawsuit. The DoJ accused Google of being a monopoly in search engines. Since it involved two of the most sought-after and profitable tech companies in the world, the search engine deal between the two has been a significant focus.
Although Google has been paying Apple since 2002, their search engine deal has been renegotiated several times over the years.
Microsoft’s Pitch for Apple
Interestingly, according to Google’s court filing, Microsoft was looking for buyers for Bing and they approached Apple with an offer. However, Apple declined the offer due to a lack of investment and search quality issues.
Microsoft then pitched Apple to change the default search engine on Safari to Bing, but Apple rejected the offer too.
Around the same time, Apple was working with DuckDuckGo to make it the default search engine in Safari’s Private Mode. Meanwhile, Google remained as the search engine in normal mode, which logs user activity.
EU Cracks Down on Browser Monopoly
It’s a well-known fact that Apple tries to lock its users in its ecosystem as much as possible. By default, you couldn’t change the default browser on iOS.
However, the EU forced Apple to allow their users to change the default browser. With iOS 17.4, Apple now offers a browser choice screen.
This has seen a surge of downloads for Firefox, Brave, and Vivaldi on iOS.
Another huge change that Apple will be forced to make is to open the underlying core for browsers that are running on iOS using Apple’s WebKit. Apple forces browser developers to use WebKit to keep the core experience similar for users even when using a different browser.
Users can expect to see browsers with more advanced features once they switch from WebKit to another core browser technology.
Apple Offers to Open up iPhone NFC Payments
After the European Commission started to investigate Apple, they offered to let third-party payment providers and mobile wallets access the iPhone’s NFC chip. The proposed commitment came a little over 1.5 years after the European Commission accused Apple of using its policies to restrict any competition in the mobile payment market.
Note that Apple allows third-party apps to access the NFC chip for reading NFC tags which means that this is a conscious decision by Apple to limit payment providers.
To address the concerns, Apple offered to allow third-party payment service providers and mobile wallets to access iOS APIs and NFC capability without the need to use Apple Wallet or Apple Pay. Apple will also not prevent the use of these apps for making payments in stores outside the EEA.
Additionally, Apple will provide additional functionalities and features that include making payment apps default as well as authentication using FaceID.
Apple Allows Game Streaming and Emulators
Previously, Apple had banned game streaming services and emulators from the App Store. However, now, they have changed this rule to allow apps like GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Streaming.
Formerly, if users wanted to use these services, they had to access them on iOS using a web browser, which created a lot of confusion. Even with a fast internet like Xfinity, users saw major drops in performance as well as lag and stutter in video quality.
Apple also announced that emulators that can load up games are now permitted on the App Store. However, they specified that the apps can only emulate “retro console games.” Apple hasn’t yet declared which games they consider retro.
Currently, the popular emulator, Delta, is available and it can emulate games on these systems:
- Nintendo Entertainment System
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System
- Nintendo 64
- Game Boy / Game Boy Color
- Game Boy Advance
- Nintendo DS
- Sega Genesis / Mega Drive
Wrapping Up
Apple is facing a lot of pressure, not only from the European government but also from the US to make some core changes to their business strategy. Apple isn’t the only one facing a lawsuit.
Google is also currently fighting an anti-trust lawsuit. If Google loses it, the deal between Google and Apple will be considered obsolete. Expect to hear the judge’s ruling later in 2024.
