Google CEO Pichai testifies in court: We once asked Apple to preload Search on iOS،
As you’ve probably already figured out if you’re an iPhone user, Apple doesn’t allow third-party companies to preload their apps on iOS. The YouTube and Google Maps apps that came preloaded on the iPhone were created by Apple and removed in iOS 6. Google Maps was replaced by the original iteration of Apple Maps, a disaster if ever there was one. But that’s a story for another day.
Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai testified in Washington District Court on Monday as the U.S. antitrust trial against Google continued. Unsurprisingly, the executive’s testimony primarily revolved around the deal Google made with Apple to become the default search engine on Safari. The judge will have to determine whether the agreement with Apple curbs competition in the search engine market.
Google Search on the original iPhone in 2007. Image credit-Search Engine Land
During his testimony, Pichai revealed that he and Apple CEO Tim Cook meet once a year to discuss how the deal is working for both companies. At the booth, Pichai said that in 2018, Apple was concerned about a drop in revenue from the deal with Google due to a drop in traffic to Google Search on iOS. According to The edgeNotes written after a meeting between Google and Apple emphasized that “Google does not control the amount or type of traffic Safari receives; Apple does.”
According to emailed notes from the meeting between the two CEOs five years ago and shared with the court by Don Harrison, Google’s head of partnerships, “during the discussion about how to encourage search, [Pichai] talked about the fact that this is what we do – people trust us to do it right and trust us with content for what they’re looking for – and brought them on board when considering making one app or another experience that people match us and connect for us (instead of through Siri/suggest.) Tim listened but didn’t react specifically to this other than noting that we had different strengths.
Pichai was questioned about the emails in court and said: “We have said that one of the things that works well on Android, and is driving increased usage, is a Google search app. So I proposed that we could create a Google search app for iOS. …and we will be committed to supporting the product for many years to come. » But allowing Google Search to preload on iOS was considered too dangerous to consider. With billions and billions at stake, neither Google nor Apple wanted to do anything that would stop the money from flowing.
