- Alphabet paid Apple $20 billion in 2022 to stay Safari’s default search engine, court docket paperwork present.
- That’s a $2 billion improve in comparison with the reported quantity Google paid Apple in 2021.
- The deal is essential proof in a US antitrust lawsuit alleging Google has an unlawful search monopoly.
The value to be the default search engine on iPhones, iPads, and Macs has apparently gone up.
Newly disclosed court docket paperwork from the US Department of Justice’s antitrust case in opposition to Google point out the tech big paid over $20 billion in 2022 to safe itself because the default search engine on Apple’s Safari browser.
That’s at the least $2 billion greater than the reported value it paid Apple in 2021. Google reportedly paid Apple round $18 billion in 2021, surpassing a billion {dollars} each month, in line with court docket paperwork.
Public disclosure of the paperwork is an enormous deal, as a result of each events have stored quiet in regards to the actual greenback quantity of the association, and the numbers have additionally been excluded from SEC filings.
At the trial final fall, Apple execs remained cryptic in regards to the cost and stated Google spent “billions” on a take care of Apple. A witness later by accident revealed Google pays 36% of the income it earns from search advertisements via Safari.
The $20 billion take care of Apple is a key piece of proof within the US’ landmark antitrust lawsuit in opposition to Google. Since 2005, the settlement has required Apple to pre-set Google as Safari’s sole default search engine on its units, in line with the court docket paperwork.
It’s a extremely precious deal for Apple. In 2021, Bernstein analysts estimated that Google’s funds to Apple made up over 14-16% of the iPhone maker’s working earnings.
While Google has been paying Apple to be the default search engine on Apple units since 2002, the worth of the deal has elevated considerably. In 2014, Google was paying $1 billion, in line with court docket paperwork filed in a separate case involving Oracle.
The court docket paperwork say that in search, Google and Apple search to “work as if [they] are one company.”
An electronic mail from Google’s president of world partnerships and company improvement Donald Harrison stated in 2018 that Tim Cook’s “overall message to Google was ‘I imagine us as being able to be deep deep partners,'” and “deeply connected” on the level the place Apple’s companies finish and Google’s start, in line with the court docket paperwork.
As Apple’s greatest smartphone competitor, the deal additionally reveals a posh relationship between the 2 tech giants. Court paperwork revealed that Google CEO Sundar Pichai at one level stated the corporate “continued to have moments of tension” with Apple, as they compete over Android and iPhone and different rival merchandise.
Spokespeople for Google and Apple did not instantly reply to Business Insider’s requests for remark forward of publication.
Closing arguments are happening this week within the antitrust case in opposition to Google, with the US Department of Justice arguing Google is illegally dominating the search engine market. Google has denied the allegations.
Apple can be preventing its personal antitrust lawsuit that accuses the iPhone maker of illegally sustaining a smartphone monopoly by making its opponents’ choices worse, allegations that Apple has denied.