Accordingly, the software giant's executives met with Apple's services director, Eddy Cue, who is also the person who made Google 's current search engine the default on Apple products. The two sides discussed the possibility of acquiring Bing, but no progress was made.

Over the years, both companies have had many discussions to make Bing the preferred choice, but in the end Apple still "sticks" with Google. This information was released in the context of the US Department of Justice (DoJ) accusing Google of abusing its dominant position in search engines to compete monopolistically.

The relationship between Apple and Google is at the heart of the case, as the search giant is said to have spent billions of dollars to appear as the “default” app on Apple devices.

At a court hearing earlier this week, Cue denied the allegations, saying the company uses Google's tool because it is the best search option available.

Apple and Google first struck a search engine deal in 2002, before the iPhone maker launched its web browser on Macs. Over time, the two tech giants expanded their partnership to other devices, most notably the iPhone.

According to the DoJ, as of 2020, Apple received between $4 billion and $7 billion annually from an agreement in which Google shared a percentage of revenue from search queries performed on the Safari browser on iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

Bloomberg's source said that the amount of money raised in this deal was also the main reason why Apple refused to buy Bing, even though the "Apple House" had concerns about Microsoft's product's ability to compete directly with Google.

However, Apple still uses Bing in some activities, such as making it the default with Siri and Spotlight — the search feature from the iPhone and iPad home screen from 2013 to 2017.

Since 2017, “Apple” has returned to using Google, as part of an updated revenue sharing plan.

On September 28, Microsoft's business development director, Jon Tinter, said that the software corporation considered investing billions of dollars in its relationship with Apple in 2016. The giant wanted to replace Google to make Bing the default option on Apple devices, and even the two top leaders, Tim Cook and Satya Nadella, had a discussion about the issue.

Google is still the default search engine inside Siri, Spotlight, and Safari. Cue said that the Apple-Google agreement was terminated in 2021. In his testimony, the CEO at the "Apple House" emphasized that Apple did not see the need to develop its own search engine, because Google was the best option.

This view is said to be different from the approach of the Cupertino, California-based company, as it competes with Google in mapping apps, voice assistants, as well as operating systems on smartphones and computers.

(According to Bloomberg)