Apple Deletes Google Brand from iPhone Search

Ed Sutherland ()

Apple Deletes Google Brand from iPhone Search

Apple’s upcoming iPhone OS 4 removes any mention of Google from the iPhone’s search feature, the latest step by the Cupertino, Calif. company to erase any connection with the Mountain View, Calif. Internet giant.

Already part of iPhone OS 3.2 used by the iPad, the elimination of the word “Google” from the iPhone’s Safari Web browser is part of iPhone OS 4, currently in beta stage. The current iPhone 3.1.3 includes a “Google” button in the bottom right corner of the handset’s touchscreen keyboard. The beta software will likely be made public this summer.

Apple also omitted the brandname from its newly-added Web search for the Spotlight search in iPhone OS 4, reports say.

The move reignited speculation Apple may drop Google as the default iPhone search, replaced by Microsoft’s Bing. Google is reportedly paying Apple $100 million a year to be the default search engine.

Apple could also replace Google with a search engine it builds in-house. In March, an analyst suggested Apple could build a mobile search engine within the next five years in order to protect data generated by the iPhone.

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[via AppleInsider]

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About the author

Ed Sutherland

Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.

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  • Craig

    Errrr So why in safari dose it still say google in search box, and when you start typing comes up with google suggestions!

    And yes I am running 4.0 Beta.

  • James Akio

    I hope that Apple either stays with Google or builds there own web search engine. If Apple decides to go with Microsoft Bing, I just don’t know what I do. I mean, after all I am a Mac Fan and refuse to use any Microsoft products (except MS Office for Mac). And I am pretty sure that there are others like me. So Apple, don’t do it, don’t go to the dark side and sign on with Microsoft. It will ruin Apple for me.

  • Richard

    Bing is not as bad as everyone assumes. It works. It’s not as “polished” as Google Search, but Bing has only been around for a year.

    And don’t assume that just because it’s from MS that it’s necessarilly “bad”. I mean, it’s just a damn search engine. You type a word/phrase in a box, and then 2 seconds later a bunch of inane responses (or URLs) come back. Really, there are more important things to cry about.

  • Mystakill

    Search buttons should be generic, and users should be able to select which search engine they want, as they do in browsers.

  • Ajith

    @james akio…….i am like you buddy….even i am a bg fan of mac,apple….just hate ms besides office tools….and bing people say it good….
    Bt dont worry apple are gonna build their own search engine and Maps…

    But youtube is a part of Google itself….wondering what will they do for it….Youtube aswe know is best video broadcasting site….i guess that app goes off…….:-(:(

  • BoxMac

    An Apple searchengine to rival GOOGLE can only be a good thing ….

  • Anonymous

    Great job apple