Microsoft’s attempt to sell Bing to Apple did not materialize

In the ongoing trial between Google and the US Justice Department, various revelations have surfaced. One notable disclosure is that a senior Microsoft executive testified that Apple derives more benefit from Bing Search than Microsoft does. A recent report from Bloomberg revealed that Microsoft had considered selling Bing Search to Apple.

What led to Microsoft’s decision to sell Bing?

A primary motivation was to establish Bing Search as the default on iPhones. Presently, Apple has a lucrative deal with Google for Search to be the default on iPhones. The report suggests that Microsoft executives engaged in discussions with Eddy Cue, Apple’s head of services, but these talks remained exploratory and did not advance further.

Apple initially forged the search engine agreement with Google in 2002, aligning with the launch of Apple’s first Mac web browser. This agreement has endured and remains vital for Google, especially considering the iPhone’s user base surpassing a billion. According to the Bloomberg report, the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that Apple has earned nearly $7 billion from this arrangement.

Apple didn’t display significant interest in acquiring Bing because of its current agreement with Google. Apple pays Google to maintain its position as the default search engine on its devices, and renegotiating this agreement would have presented challenges. Additionally, Apple expressed concerns about the quality of Bing compared to Google Search. Bing significantly trails behind Google both in market share and search quality. Improving Bing’s performance would have required substantial investments from Apple, and it remained uncertain whether this would have been a worthwhile endeavor.