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Google Pays Apple $18B to $20B a Year to Be Default iOS Search Engine

lesbenito — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 12:08:04 +0000

It’s widely known that Apple and Google have a considerable monetary agreement that ensures Google’s position as the default search engine on Apple’s iOS devices, but neither company reveals the amounts involved. In 2021, financial advisor Bernstein suggested Google was paying Apple as much as $10 billion a year to maintain the status quo. However, in a new investor note, the analyst claims Google’s payment to Apple is now between $18 billion and $20 billion.

First reported by The Register, Bernstein published a report assessing the potential implications for Apple of the US government’s ongoing antitrust trial against Google, with the Department of Justice considering Google’s Information Services Agreement (ISA) with Apple as evidence that it has a search engine monopoly.

“We believe there is a possibility that federal courts rule against Google and force it to terminate its search deal with Apple,” said Bernstein in the report seen by The Register. “We estimate that the ISA is worth $18B-20B in annual payments from Google to Apple, accounting for 14-16 percent of Apple’s annual operating profits.”

Bernstein says Google pays out 22 percent of total ad revenue under its traffic acquisition costs (TAC) and estimates Apple likely receives around 40 percent of this. Bernstein bases its numbers on Apple’s public filings as well as a bottom-up analysis of Google’s traffic acquisition costs. The DoJ has said in the trial that it thinks Apple receives around $10 billion from the ISA with Google, although its information comes from external sources.

“Importantly, Google is on trial, not Apple, and Apple could (in theory) partner with another search engine to be the default (and/or retain the agreement with Google outside the US),” the report states. “One more likely scenario is that Apple offers a choice screen. We note that Apple controls access to its installed base, which generates ~$60B + in advertising revenues, and accordingly, we believe that Apple would continue to command a commission (in the 25-30 percent range) for providing access to those search advertising revenues.

“Moreover, introduction of a choice screen could offer Apple the opportunity to potentially launch its own search engine as an option – something it could likely not do today without raising the eyebrows of regulators,” the Bernstein report adds.

Last month, the trial revealed that Microsoft considered selling its Bing search engine to Apple. Had the acquisition happened, Bing would have replaced Google as the default search engine on Apple devices.

Experts say there is a chance Google could lose the case, which would put Apple’s lucrative agreement, which has been in place for a decade, in significant jeopardy. However, a ruling in the case isn’t expected before next year, and the likelihood is that proceedings will be extended by the lengthy appeals process.

Tag: Google

This article, “Google Pays Apple $18B to $20B a Year to Be Default iOS Search Engine” first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Author: Tim Hardwick

Klarna launches a suite of new features, including an AI-powered image-search tool

lesbenito — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 12:08:04 +0000

Klarna is introducing a suite of new features, including an AI-powered image-search tool called Shopping lens, the company announced on Wednesday. The company is also launching shoppable videos in Europe, in-store product scanning, a new cashback program, express refunds and more. The new Shopping lens allows users to take a picture of items and styles […]

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Author: Aisha Malik

Amazon Luna subscribers can now buy individual Ubisoft games

lesbenito — Sun, 08 Oct 2023 15:07:43 +0000

Late last year, Amazon Luna and Ubisoft deepened their partnership by allowing subscribers to stream the developer’s games that they already own on PC. So it doesn’t really come as a surprise that Amazon has chosen to team up with Ubisoft to debut a new feature on its cloud gaming service: The capability to buy games from the platform and not just stream them. Subscribers can now purchase select Ubisoft games from the developer’s portal on Luna, and the selection includes several Assassin’s Creed titles, the Far Cry games, Child of Light and Watch Dogs.

Customers will be able to purchase any game they want from within Luna, using their Amazon account and as long as their Ubisoft account is linked. The e-commerce giant says subscribers will own the license for any game they buy, and they’ll be able to play either on Luna-enabled devices or on a computer if they download the title for offline play via the Ubisoft Connect PC launcher. The list of Luna-enabled devices include Fire TV devices, Chromebooks and phones.

All the titles a customer buys will show up in their Luna library, and all their in-game purchases will sync to their Ubisoft account regardless of where they pay for them. Of course, they’ll only be able to stream the games on Luna as long as they’re a subscriber or a Prime member, but they’re not going to lose access to those titles completely if they stop paying for the service.

As 9to5Google notes, this move gives Luna shades of Google Stadia, which was the only cloud gaming platform that allowed users to purchase games when it was still around. Unfortunately, Amazon didn’t say whether it has plans to expand game purchases and to sell titles from other developers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-luna-subscribers-can-now-buy-individual-ubisoft-games-130047808.html?src=rss

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Author: Mariella Moon

All eyes on VW after Hyundai, Kia adopt Tesla charging standard

lesbenito — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 13:07:40 +0000

Hyundai and Kia have finally announced their plans to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) ports for their electric vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, joining the swells of automakers that have also promised to do so. The move will give Hyundai and Kia drivers — as well as drivers of Ford, General Motors, […]

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Author: Rebecca Bellan

Man Whose AI ‘Girlfriend’ Encouraged Him to Assassinate Queen Elizabeth II Gets Nine Years in Prison

lesbenito — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 13:07:39 +0000

A man who was encouraged to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II by his chatbot girlfriend was sentenced to nine years in prison by a UK judge on Thursday. Jaswant Singh Chail was just 19 years old when he scaled the wall of the late queen’s Windsor Castle home, armed with a loaded crossbow and donning a metal face mask on…

3D-printed stem cells could help treat brain injuries

lesbenito — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 13:07:38 +0000

In a scientific first, researchers at theUniversity of Oxford have 3D printed stem cells that can mimic the architecture of the cerebral cortex, the human brain’s outer layer. The technique could potentially be used to treat brain injuries. Such injuries typically cause significant damage to the cerebral cortex, leading to movement, cognition, and communication challenges. Currently, there’s no effective treatment for severe cases, which negatively impacts the patients’ quality of life. Hoping to change this, the research team fabricated a two-layered brain tissue by 3D printing human neural stem cells. To achieve this, the researchers used human induced pluripotent stem…

This story continues at The Next Web

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Author: Ioanna Lykiardopoulou

Apple researching how to make a ‘Star Trek’ communicator badge

lesbenito — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 13:07:35 +0000

Apple has been researching how to make a small, wearable loudspeaker that would use beamformed audio to make it clearly audible to the wearer, yet not disturb anyone else.

Detail from the patent showing Bod wearing an audio device

Apple calls a newly-revealed patent application by the name, “Wearable Device with Directional Audio,” but it’s really “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” At heart, this is how to solve the problem of your entire Away Team plus enemy aliens hearing when your mother calls to ask if you remembered your coat, or why you forgot your Humane AI Pin.

Amazon shutters its live radio app Amp

lesbenito — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 13:07:34 +0000

Amazon has shut down its Clubhouse competitor’s live radio app Amp almost 18 months after its launch. The app allowed users to play DJ and provide commentary alongside playing tracks. The company’s lead for digital music, Steve Boom, sent a memo internally saying the decision to shut down the platform “only became clear after months […]

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Author: Ivan Mehta

Okta plans to weave AI across its entire identity platform using multiple models

lesbenito — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 15:09:27 +0000

One thing is clear this year: generative AI is having a tremendous impact on the software industry, and a week doesn’t pass without software companies announcing their plans to incorporate the seemingly game changing technology into their platforms. This week, it’s Okta’s turn. The identity company is making a slew of AI-related announcements at the […]

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Author: Ron Miller

Yubico can now ship pre-registered security keys to its enterprise users

lesbenito — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 15:09:26 +0000

Physical security keys remain one of the best ways to secure user accounts, but the fact that new users have to register them before they can use them often adds quite a bit of friction. Yubico, the company behind the ubiquitous FIDO-certified YubiKeys, is now making this significantly easier by giving its enterprise users the […]

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Author: Frederic Lardinois