During the ongoing Google-US Justice Department trial, several revelations have emerged. For example, a senior Microsoft executive testified that Apple benefits more from Bing Search than Microsoft itself. In a recent Bloomberg report, it was disclosed that Microsoft contemplated selling Bing Search to Apple.
What prompted Microsoft’s desire to sell Bing?
One of the key motivations was to secure Bing Search as the default on iPhones. Currently, Apple has a profitable arrangement with Google for Search to be the default on iPhones. The report indicates that Microsoft executives held discussions with Eddy Cue, Apple’s head of services, but the talks remained exploratory and didn’t progress further.
Apple initially entered into the search engine agreement with Google in 2002, coinciding with the release of Apple’s inaugural Mac web browser. This deal has persisted and remains crucial for Google, given the iPhone’s user base exceeding a billion. As per the Bloomberg report, the U.S. Department of Justice approximates that Apple has garnered nearly $7 billion from this arrangement.
Apple didn’t show much enthusiasm for acquiring Bing due to its existing agreement with Google. Apple pays Google to retain its position as the default search engine on its devices, and renegotiating this agreement would have been challenging. Moreover, Apple had reservations about Bing’s quality in comparison to Google Search. Bing lags far behind Google both in market share and search quality. To enhance Bing’s performance, Apple would have needed substantial investments, and it remained uncertain whether this would have been a worthwhile endeavor.
