Google Gives Apple a Cut of Chrome iOS Search Revenue
We’ve known that Google pays Apple billions for Google searches from Safari, but I had missed that Google is also paying for searches made through Chrome.
Bloomberg (in 2020, via Chance Miller):
Apple also gets a slice of revenue from searches made through some of Google’s own apps, such as Chrome, installed on iPhones, iPads, and Macs[…]
This is one of the aspects of the relationship between the two tech goliaths that currently concerns the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
[…]
The British competition watchdog is worried that Google’s payments to Apple discourage the iPhone maker from competing with Google. Substantial payments for doing nothing incentivize more of the same, it’s argued.
This perhaps explains why Apple, though hugely profitable, has not launched a rival search engine or invested in the development of its Safari browser to the point that it could become a credible challenger to Chrome.
See also: MacRumors and Hacker News.
Previously:
- Web Push for Web Apps on iOS and iPadOS
- Apple Appeals UK CMA Decision
- Google Antitrust Lawsuit
- Legal at Apple Scale
