When it comes to search engines, Google is still the undisputed champ. Recent events (most notably, Firefox ditching Google for Yahoo), however, have forced them to face up to the realisation that their days may be numbered. Safari, the Apple-based web browser beloved by millions of iPhone and iPad users, uses Google as its default search engine, but that deal is set to expire shortly. Rumours have been swirling around the web for some weeks now that Apple plans to go it alone, creating a search engine of their own once their current deal with Google reaches its end.
Up until now, this has all been based on hearsay and speculation, but a recent job posting that materialised on the tech giant’s official jobs page, one that makes allusions to something called “Apple Search”, seems to suggest there might be some truth to the rumours after all. The job listing calls for an engineering project manager to join the firm’s Apple Search division and aid them in their efforts to create a ‘a search platform supporting hundreds of millions of users.’
As you’d expect, the job listing has sparked frenzied speculation around the web, with many insiders predicting that Apple is hard at work on a standalone search tool for its lineup of Macs, iPhones, and iPads.
Speculation that Apple would create its own search engine is nothing new; back in 2010, Piper Jaffray analysts proclaimed that there was a 70% chance the tech firm would enter the search engine race by at least 2015. However, this job listing is the strongest proof we have seen yet of Apple’s new found determination to take on Google and carve off their own slice of the lucrative search engine market.
Historically, Apple have shown themselves to be more than willing to replace third-party apps and services with ones of their own. For example, Yahoo was the default weather app on their devices up until the release of iOS 8, which came bundled with an inbuilt service Apple called the Weather Channel. With that in mind, the idea that Apple could split from Google and go it alone doesn’t seem too far-fetched.
Apple has yet to respond to the rumours, but stay tuned for more updates on Apple Search as and when we get them.
