Microsoft has explored several approaches to push Bing into Apple’s arms so that it uses it as the default search engine in the iPhone. But all these attempts failed.
We cannot say that Microsoft lacked the ideas to impose Bing. In the hope of breathing new life into its in-house search engine, the American company has long sought allies against Google. Support which would have helped the Redmond giant to build an honorable market share against the Mountain View firm.
In this task, Apple appeared to be an ideal partner due to its significant market share in mobile telephony. According to Statcounter, as of January 2024, iOS controls nearly 30% of smartphone operating systems, thanks to the iPhone. Since 2016, this market share has been steadily increasing.
Agreement, sale, joint venture: Microsoft has tried everything
The software giant thus proposed to Apple to make Bing the default search engine for the iPhone, instead of Google. And Microsoft didn’t just ask for it once: Microsoft tried six times, according to court documents viewed on February 24 by CNBC. Requests were made in 2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2020.
However, the group founded by Steve Jobs systematically declined the offer. Reason given? The quality of Bing was considered insufficient to establish itself in Safari. In any case, it seemed behind the index and the functioning of Google. As a result, Google kept its place in Apple’s web browser.
In 2018, another angle of attack was experimented by Microsoft: selling Bing to Apple or, possibly, setting up a joint venture with the Cupertino company. Here again, the efforts proved futile. A key explanation lies in the fact that Google pays colossal sums to Apple to be the default search for the iPhone.
According to the New York Times, the contract between Apple and Google reaches 20 billion dollars. Ten years later, this amount was estimated at around a billion dollars. Despite the friction that there may have been between the two groups, or the divergent views on the protection of privacy, the two companies have maintained their partnership.
Much to the chagrin of Microsoft, whose market share in online search has never managed to be more than anecdotal. According to Statcounter, in January 2024, Bing’s global market share reached 3.5%. A proportion which has never managed to progress, including since the search engine’s debut in June 2009.
Do you want to know everything about the mobility of tomorrow, from electric cars to e-bikes? Subscribe now to our Watt Else newsletter!