Apple CEO Tim Cook defended his company’s relationship with Google, saying it’s “not a perfect thing” but that he believes the company has the best search engine. He says his company views privacy as a “core value” that goes back before the iPhone. In an interview with “Axios on HBO,” Cook defended taking billions from Google to make its search engine the default setting on the iPhone.
As per Axios on HBO, Tim said “I think their search engine is the best. Look at what we’ve done with the controls we’ve built in. We have private web browsing. We have an intelligent tracker prevention. What we’ve tried to do is come up with ways to help our users through their course of the day. It’s not a perfect thing. I’d be the very first person to say that. But it goes a long way to helping.”
Google currently pays Apple to serve as the default search engine for iPhone and iPads.
According to a tweet by Brian Fung “Apple CEO, Tim Cook defended his company’s relationship with Google, saying it’s “not a perfect thing” but that he believes the company has the best search engine.”
While Facebook and Google face a reckoning over privacy, Apple has remained virtually untouched by the drama sweeping through Silicon Valley.
The Verge says “Apple reportedly makes anywhere from $3 to $9 billion from its deal with Google, which sees its search engine made the default on Apple’s Safari browser, Siri web search, and elsewhere. Privacy-focused search engines — like DuckDuckGo — exist, but for Apple, the bump in services revenue from Google coupled with a modicum of Safari controls seems to trump privacy concerns.”.
Cook suggested that Apple and Silicon Valley, in general, we’re working to improve gender inequities — an issue that the technology industry had previously “missed” — and said that he was optimistic “there will be a marked improvement over time.”