Apple and Google are slowly going their separate ways, and they may not have a choice. Google and Apple have been a great team up back in the days when they actually worked together. The search giant’s ambition to create its own mobile platform has created a giant rift between these companies, as well as a bitter hatred between former friends: the late Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt. The fight got personal, as Steve Jobs reportedly said that he will do everything in his power to destroy Android and its creator.
Apple seems to continue this battle as they follow a road map created when the big Steve was still in charge. They continue to create ways to wean off and eventually remove Google services from their popular devices. In a form of Guerilla tactic, Apple has slowly began replacing some Google functions that previously were popularly used by Apple’s loyal fan base.
What services are these? Let’s start with something highly sensationalized: Siri. Siri is a way for iPhone 4S users to get information by talking to their phone. Siri simply answers these queries by relying on a database, rather than searching for it, using some search service, like Google. While Siri may eventually need to search when the answer could not be found in its database, it effectively searches without branding it as a Google search or a Bing search. While Google search continues to be prevalent in everything else that searches the net, a good chunk of users, which now includes the iPad users, are no longer completely relying on their service and instead, are relying on Siri.
A less widely known addition to iOS5 was Apple’s own Geolocator service. This is a service that allows the device to locate where you are, by using GPS and wireless connections such as Wi-Fi. This was a service previously provided by Google. What good is it to Google? Well, every time Google would identify you location for you, it eventually knows where you are as well. By knowing where you are, Google can provide the proper location based ads to your device. We all know that Google derives its earnings mostly on Ads. Losing a huge chunk of Apple users means less data for them to provide accurate location based services.
More recently, Apple has announced its own Maps service, which will eventually remove Google Maps from the equation. This is another major service that search giant will eventually lose. Apple seeks to even outperform their service, and this could lead into further problems, if Apple seeks to go beyond Mobile in its maps offerings.
While Apple may have Ping, a less than lacking social networking service, it has announced that there will be greater integration between iOS devices and Facebook. By choosing to side with Google+’s greatest competitor, it would seem as if Apple is purposely giving Google the finger. The enemy of my enemy is my friend rings true in this situation.
Aside from these offerings, Apple has some other services that may not be as popular as the ones mentioned before, but has existed and may provide a threat if they are able to properly capitalize on its presence. What am I talking about? The Apple ID of course! Apple has its own mailing service and a cloud storage option that rivals that of Google’s Gmail and Drive. Apple also has its own Ads service that may be small right now, but if the company wishes to, they might be able to expand it even further.
This is only the beginning in the unholy war between these Frenemies. What function will Apple override next? How much more of the world’s chunk of devices will the search giant eventually lose? This may not happen immediately, but it will happen, if Apple has anything to say about it.
Ultimately, it’s up to the users. The lost functions like Maps can still be downloaded from the App store. They still have a choice to keep Google in the loop. The question is will they want to? Will you want to? Or would you rather stay on a closed-off ecosystem that seeks to separate itself from the world?
Image sources: engadget.com, ibnlive.in.com, slashgeo.org, iphoneincanada.ca
