Google has been the default search engine for Apple’s Safari for the last five years but this partnership is set to expire in 2015.
A window of opportunity has opened up for other tech giants such as Yahoo and Microsoft’s Bing to take its place. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer had voiced her thoughts earlier as well on how Yahoo wants Apple to ditch Google as the default search engine.
Reports from The Information suggest that Apple is likely to base its decision on the ‘quality of the product as much as the potential money made from search ads.’
According to popular notion, Apple could be working on a new search engine entirely of its own, however, there is no confirmation on the subject as yet.
There is no news from Apple as to which search engine they will opt for in 2015. The company could even continue its relationship with Google. As the separation nears, Apple has already replaced Google Maps on iPhones and no longer does YouTube come pre-installed.
Earlier reports suggest that Firefox Mozilla had taken off Google as its search engine and replaced it with a five-year deal with Yahoo outside the US. The deal between the two companies will start in December and is set to last for five years, Yahoo said.
Though Apple and Firefox are looking at other options as their default search engines, Google Search is the default search engine in Chrome that’s more popular than Safari and Firefox web browsers.
Google previously served as the default search option for users of Firefox Web browser on an international basis. With Google’s three-year deal coming to an end, Mozilla has struck deals with several search engines in different regions, including Baidu in China and Yandex NV in Russia.
