Forget 'Googling', soon we could be 'Appleing': Job listing fuels rumours firm is working on its own search engine
- A job listing has appeared on the tech giant's official recruitment site
- It is advertising for an Engineering Project Manager in its Apple Search division to develop 'a search platform supporting millions of users'
- This has fuelled speculation Apple is working on a standalone search tool
- Google has been the default engine on Safari for the past five years
- But the deal is due to expire and Apple could be looking for a replacement
- Alternatively, Apple may want to boost its existing built-in search options
In the battle of the search engines Google is the undisputed king, but Apple could be aiming to take its crown.
A job listing has appeared on the tech giant's official recruitment site that is advertising for an Engineering Project Manager in its Apple Search division to develop 'a search platform supporting hundreds of millions of users.'
This has fuelled speculation from last year that Apple is aiming to launch a standalone search tool across iPhones, iPads and Macs.
A job listing has appeared on the tech giant's official recruitment site that is advertising for an Engineering Project Manager to develop 'a search platform supporting hundreds of millions of users.' This has fuelled speculation that Apple is aiming to launch a standalone search tool across iPhones, iPads and Macs
The listing was posted on 2 February and said: 'Apple seeks a technical, driven and creative program manager to manage backend operations projects for a search platform.
'Program managers in our team focus on complex technical issues and are expected to analyse data to provide an in-depth evaluation of variable factors.'
Back in 2010, analysts at Piper Jaffray claimed there was a 70 per cent chance Apple would launch its own mobile search engine by 2015.
Google's deal as the default search engine on Safari (pictured) expires this year. Apple could replace it with Yahoo or Bing, or develop its own tool
In November, Apple Insider reported that a so-called web-crawling bot had been spotted on Apple's servers.
This could be the start of developing its own search engine, but may also simply be used to boost its local and built-in search options.
For example, OS X Yosemite's Spotlight Search tool scours the desktop, but also the web, maps and Wikipedia.
The rumours were bolstered in November when reports claimed Apple was looking to ditch Google as its default search engine on its Safari browser.
Google has been the default engine on Safari for the past five years, but the deal is due to expire this year.
Although this could see Microsoft's Bing or Yahoo taking its place, the tech giant could also be working on developing a search engine of its own.
Both Yahoo and Microsoft have already started canvassing Apple about becoming the default engine on iOS devices and Macs, according to The Information's Amir Efrati.
Mr Efrati said Apple is likely to base the decision on the 'quality of the product as much as the potential money made from search ads.'
Google reportedly paid Apple $82 million (£52 million) in 2009, and $1 billion (£636 million) last year for the partnership.
Firefox ditched Google as its default search engine last year. From the start of December, people using the browser in the US were switched to Yahoo. Search engines make money from partnerships by sending traffic to their servers, and profiting from ad revenue. A proprietary Apple engine could be used as an extra income
As of 9 January, Apple's Safari browser is the third most used web browser in the world, behind Google's Chrome and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. It has overtaken Firefox and is now used by by 15.2% of the market
Search engines make money from such partnerships by sending traffic to their servers, and profiting from ad revenue.
But Apple has been distancing itself from its rival for sometime.
When it launched iOS 7, the default search engine for Siri was Microsoft's Bing, for example.
Yahoo was the default weather app until Apple launched iOS 8, at which point it was replaced by the Weather Channel.
Apple also replaced Google Maps with its own proprietary service, and stopped pre-installing Google-owned YouTube on devices.
Within Apple Maps, local searches are made using services such as Yelp.
In 2013, Re/code reported Yahoo was 'aggressively' working to increase revenue and the focus was to become the default on Apple products.
Firefox signed a deal with Yahoo last year to replace Google as the default search option - although users can revert back in Settings.
Five years ago, Yahoo signed a deal with Microsoft to have Bing to carry out behind-the-scenes indexing of online content.
Yahoo and Microsoft agreed to split ad revenue under terms of the 10-year search deal, which let Yahoo focus on customising query results for users.
Yahoo boss Marissa Mayer has repeatedly stressed that Yahoo remains devoted to the search market that the company pioneered, but which Google eventually dominated.
Even if Apple does replace Google as its default engine, users are expected to be able to revert back, or select an alternative in the browser's settings.
- New Search Strategy for Firefox: Promoting Choice & Innovation | The Mozilla Blog
- Yahoo and Mozilla Partner to Bring Yahoo Search to Firefox | Yahoo
- All Eyes on Apple as Google Search Deal Expires Next Year — The Information
- jobs.apple.com/us/search?job=36607344&openJobId=36607344#&openJobId=36607344
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