Apple Reportedly Takes a Massive Bite Out of Google’s Search Advertising Revenue

In a surprising move earlier this week, Google’s efforts to get Apple to adopt Rich Communication Services (RCS) have finally paid off and iMessage in the future will cater to a larger number of mobile phone users, easing restrictions for people outside the Apple ecosystem. However, it seems like this hateful relationship isn’t entirely what it looks to be.

See, it was a well-known fact for a long time that Google pays Apple to keep its search engine as the default on Safari, but the silver-lining in all of this was “how” much does Apple get paid to justify keeping Google Search. Well, we now know…sort of.

According to recent testimony in the Google v. US Department of Justice’s antitrust case, Google pays Apple a substantial 36% of its search advertising revenue as part of their search deal. This arrangement has drawn scrutiny due to its potential anti-competitive effects, especially given the concerted efforts of both companies to keep the details of the deal confidential.

This figure alone goes to show how big of a deal this is in the sense that Google would be maintaining a monopoly over its competitors by being the default search engine on one of the most popular search browsers in the world.

While the exact financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed, it is safe to assume that the amount paid to Apple exceeds the previously estimated $8 billion figure. This huge sum, combined with the exclusivity agreement, raises concerns about the potential for anti-competitive practices and market manipulation.

On the other side of the spectrum, Microsoft has been actively trying for Bing to replace Google as the default search engine on Apple devices. Now, the revelation of Google’s substantial payment to Apple is likely to further complicate Microsoft’s efforts and hinder its ability to compete effectively.

This is all we know for now, but rest assured that we will keep you updated as new information becomes available.