Why is Apple building its own search engine? Here’s what you need to know 👇 on.ft.com/3kvY3tc 
Apple is notoriously secretive about its internal projects but there is growing evidence that it is working to build a rival to Google’s search engine ft.com/content/fd3118…
Apple’s lucrative partnership with Google as the iPhone’s default search tool has come under scrutiny from US antitrust authorities. Developing its own search technology would give Apple an alternative ft.com/content/fd3118…
Most of Google’s smaller rivals license their index from Microsoft’s Bing. Apple is one of the few companies with the resources to index the web from scratch — and it historically prefers to control the components of its products ft.com/content/fd3118…
In a little-noticed change to the latest version of its iPhone operating system, iOS 14, Apple has begun to show its own search results and link directly to websites when users type queries from its home screen ft.com/content/fd3118…
Experts also point to a flurry of activity from Applebot, the iPhone maker’s once-obscure web crawler, which is used to build the vast database of online material that forms the foundation of any search engine ft.com/content/fd3118…
But things may not go to plan. Apple has tried, and failed, to rival Google before. Apple Maps first launched in 2012, but was so prone to errors that a top lieutenant was forced to resign ft.com/content/fd3118…
Google also has an enormous advantage when it comes to data. Will Apple be able to catch up? ft.com/content/fd3118…
Building a true rival to Google’s search engine could take years. But with $81bn in the bank, Apple can afford to play the long game ft.com/content/fd3118…
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