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Comment by onion2k | Hacker News Reader

It's always a tempting story - Apple have the resources, they could make a lot of money from making it the Safari and iOS default, and they're pushing in to services for growth, but people have been suggesting that Apple will launch a search engine "soon" for at least a decade. It hasn't happened yet and there's no particularly significant reason to believe it'll happen now.

That said, it would be nice if Google had some proper competition to drive innovation for once. Search really hasn't changed in any fundamental or even noticeable way for a long time.

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My take is that the timing is perfect, so the rumor is likely true, but that Apple is going to screw it up royally.

This is a great time for a big competitor to start a search engine. Google's reputation and search quality aren't what they used to be. Google is also in a MS antitrust situation, where they have to fight with a hand behind their back.

If Apple were to work with others to set up some sort of "search foundation," I'll bet its search product could mop up a lot of the search market. As a result, Apple would have more leverage over Google, and more momentum. They'd have some measure of control over the user experience, even via a shared "foundation".

But that's not what is going to happen!

Apple management is going to release some weird, overly strategic product with Apple-branding all over it. Users don't want a "Siri" or "Spotlight" or "Apple" branded search engine (assuming Apple isn't so deliriously drunk on "clever strategy" that they don't make search an "app" instead of a webpage). It will also detract from Apple's "privacy" messaging, because they'll not only be pushing users aggressively to store all their data in iCloud, but also appear to have access to users' search histories.

I think Apple's search engine is going to fail horribly, despite fate giving them a golden opportunity to plough into Google's market. Apple is going to "sherlock" itself.

Unless they also build an ad network to go with the search engine this will be a money sink and nobody good will want to work on it. Internal incentives will line up such that it will be guaranteed to languish.

> Search really hasn't changed in any fundamental or even noticeable way for a long time.

Perhaps I’m cynical but I do think search has changed in fundamental and noticeable ways in the last five years but none of the change has been for the better. More ads, more “personalized” with more tracking, more results based on what the algorithm thinks I mean instead of what I’ve actually typed. I much preferred Google circa 2006 when it was much more intuitive and much less “innovative.”

>I much preferred Google circa 2006

2000 to 2002 was "peak Google" (and "peak internet") according to my preferences.

Microsoft has very deep pockets and created a solid search platform in Bing but they still struggle against Google. Microsoft used ownership of Windows to push their Edge browser (both the original and new flavor) but still struggled against Chrome. For Apple to succeed, they don't need to be "as good," they need to be significantly better or differentiated. One way might be to focus on privacy and play on fears. Combine fear of being tracked with default search engine status one a billion iPhones and you might have a shot at some market share.

I disagree. Apple maps is worse than competition but they push it to their consumers because it's not bad enough to be worth switching away from iOS.

"for at least a decade"

I remember the rumor that Apple was going to get into search back when altavista was a thing.

Apple is one of those companies that is seemingly “about to launch” a product in dozens of categories which aren’t their core competencies (Project Titan?). People fail to realize this is what these massive R&D budgets are for...not just the products you see, but the many many projects which don’t get approved. Apple shows impressive restraint in their endeavors. Search would be interesting, though perhaps unwise.

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