In the world of search engines, Google is pretty dominant, and to some extent rightly 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 returns the result you're looking for. It's even good at correcting typos.
Still, excessive dominance can be a problem. Earlier this week, a US federal judge declared Google a “monopolist” and the company has continued to behave in the same way to maintain its status.
One of the ways to keep it that way 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 sees no other option.
Apple's senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, says: “I don't think there's any price in the world that Microsoft would offer us. They offered to give us Bing for free. They could give us the whole company.”
Apple users fear not
It's a bold statement and one that essentially confirms that there's not much to worry about in terms of Google's exit, as there really isn't a strong alternative with enough intelligence or even potential functionality.
Interestingly, any iPhone (or iPad, or Mac) owner can change the default search engine in Safari. You can even get an alternative browser like Google Chrome, Arc, Firefox, or many others, depending on the operating system.
And now you don’t need to Google how to do it. You can open Settings in iOS or iPadOS, navigate to Safari, and select “Search Engine.” Then, select from the list of five options: Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, or Ecosia.
So, you have the power to change, but going back to 2023, Eddy Cue, while testifying, stated that there was “no valid alternative” for customers, and Apple gives people an easy way to change it if they want.
Given the latest ruling, it seems Cue's opinion hasn't changed and there's not much chance of the default search engine changing anytime soon. Anyway, if you'd rather ask Bing or ponder DuckDuckGo, you can always switch from Google… chances are you'll switch back.
