Google’s Monopoly Is a Huge Problem for Apple

Google is in trouble in the US. The search engine company has been declared a monopoly in the United States in a landmark court ruling that could change the future of the internet, or at least the future of search engines. The implications this will have when the process, which still has a long way to go, is completed are unknown. The court’s decision, It only points out Google’s liability, but does not say what sanctions it might face.One of these consequences could also be a problem for Apple.

Google is the default search engine for Apple operating systems. Not because it is the best, and not because Apple has any special affection for the search engine company, as they are direct competitors to many services. In fact, it is because Google pays Apple a huge amount of money to be the default search engine.

While there are no official figures, it is believed that Google pays Apple between 18,000 and 20,000 million dollars per year because it is the default search engine. And it is a very important part of Apple’s profits, even more than some of the company’s own products. Likewise, Google gets a lot of traffic from Apple devices, which leads to huge revenues from advertising content.

And this seemingly win-win situation for both companies could be threatened by a North American judge ruling that Google is a monopoly. And more importantly, a monopoly on the search engine market, one of the company’s core businesses.

Uncertain future for Google and Apple with several options on the table

In this sense, one of the possible consequences of the court’s decision could be the termination of the agreement between the two companies. Something that will directly affect not only Apple’s accounts, but also Google’s revenue from advertising on Apple devices, 64% of which belongs to the search company. If the deal falls apart, Apple’s accounts will be left with a hole of 4% to 6%. And from night to morning.

An agreement without official confirmation has been in force for many years between the two companies, and, according to various sources, It will be in effect until September 2026. with the possibility of its unilateral extension for another two years.

Ultimately, this doesn’t mean that Google will no longer be available as a search engine on the iPhone. Apple will have several options, such as using alternatives like Microsoft Bing as the default or, as a result of the agreement presented at WWDC, using an OpenAI-powered search engine in the future. In the worst case, who knows if Apple will launch its own search engine. Either way, the user will always have the option to keep Google, even if it’s not the default search engine.