While Google has its own mobile OS, it is still at heart a search engine company. That is why it is set to pay Apple the privilege to remain as a preferred search engine for Cupertino’s operating systems.
Even though Google is a ‘free’ search engine, it is still paying Apple an annual fee to be top dog in the list of search engines that iOS users can choose from. In fact, this is not the only time the company paid Apple to be in the exclusive list. In 2014, the fee was USD1 Billion. Last year, the figure went up to USD4 Billion (USD1 = RM4.14).
According to analyst Rob Hall, the figure can even skyrocket next year. He is predicting that the fee will go past this year’s fee – USD12 Billion in fact. What is more amazing (and amusing) is that the fee is pure profit for Apple.
As the biggest search engine provider in the world, Google is definitely looking for ways to keep itself at the top spot in any way possible. It does not have control of iOS, but it sure will have control how iOS users search for data and information on their devices.
