In the world of search engines, Google is pretty dominant and, to a degree, rightfully so, as it’s very good at what it does. Whether you type in a basic query or one written in a conversational tone, it usually displays the result you’re after. It’s even good at fixing typos.
Still, too much dominance can be an issue. Earlier this week, a US Federal Judge declared Google a “monopolist,” and it has continued to behave in that same way to maintain its status.
One way it’s kept that is the simple fact that Google is the default search engine on countless devices, including Android phones or Chromebooks and the iPhone. For the latter, Google pays a hefty sum to Apple, and even with this ruling, it seems that the Cupertino-based tech giant doesn’t see another option.
Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, Eddy Cue, says, “I don’t believe there’s a price in the world that Microsoft could offer us. They offered to give us Bing for free. They could give us the whole company.”
Apple users fear not
It’s a strong statement and one that essentially confirms there isn’t much to worry about in terms of Google departing since there isn’t really a strong alternative with enough smarts or even potential functionality.
Interestingly enough, any iPhone – or iPad, or Mac – owner can change the default search engine within Safari. You can even get an alternative browser like Google Chrome, Arc, Firefox, or countless others depending on the OS.
And now, you don’t need to Google how to do it. You can open Settings on iOS or iPadOS, navigate to Safari, and select ‘Search Engine.” You then select from the list of five options: Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Ecosia.
So you do have the power to change, but going back to 2023, Eddy Cue, while testifying, stated “there wasn’t a valid alternative” for customers, and Apple does give folks an easy way to change it if they do so.
Given the latest ruling, it seems that Cue’s opinion hasn’t changed and that there isn’t much of a chance of the default search engine changing anytime soon. Still, though, if you’d rather ask Bing or ponder on DuckDuckGo, you can always switch from Google … chances are you might switch back.
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jacob.krol@futurenet.com (Jacob Krol)
