Yes — Apple should build a privacy-first vertical and local search engine now, and strategically evolve into a full web search engine over time. This aligns with Apple’s brand, reduces Google dependency, strengthens the ecosystem, and expands services revenue.
Apple’s mission is to “bring the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through innovative hardware, software and internet offerings.”
A native, private-by-design search engine:
| Type | Description | Strategic Fit for Apple |
|---|---|---|
| Full Web Search Engine | Crawls and indexes the entire web like Google/Bing | ❌ Not a near-term priority due to high complexity and cost |
| Vertical Search Engine | Domain-specific (e.g., App Store, Maps, Music) | ✅ Already strong — continue expanding and monetizing |
| Local On-Device Search | Searches files, apps, messages, contacts while preserving privacy | ✅ Perfect brand fit — extend capabilities and unify UX |
Apple controls hardware, software, and browser — but outsources web search to competitors.
Building its own search engine allows Apple to deliver a fully native, seamless search experience across Safari, Siri, and Spotlight — all tuned to Apple’s design and speed standards.
Apple has built its brand around privacy-first experiences — while Google’s business model depends on surveillance-driven personalization.
Google pays ~$15–20B/year to remain Safari’s default search engine — a massive revenue source, but also a: