Will We Need an iPhone in 10 Years? Maybe Not Says One Apple Exec
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Last year, a federal court judge ruled Google has a monopoly in the search and advertising business. One centerpiece of the trial was Apple’s search deal with Google, wherein Google gets to be the default search engine for Apple’s Safari web browser. Google pays Apple over $20 billion a year for this coveted piece of digital real estate.
There’s now a three-week trial underway in which Judge Amit Mehta will decide the remedies for last year’s ruling. Apple’s senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, has once again appeared for questioning, and his recent testimony has revealed some shocking news that resulted in Google’s (Alphabet) share price sliding 8%.
Cue’s primary interest is preserving this enormous revenue stream from Google. When asked to describe the potential loss of this revenue, Cue stated it’s used for engineers, new products, and updating the iOS operating system. However, the testimony rippling through the tech industry and the stock market was Cue’s statement on Safari’s search traffic last month.
Searches in Safari fell for the first time in April. According to Cue, this has “never happened in 20 years.” Yikes. With billions of dollars at stake, this is shocking. Judge Mehta’s decision concerning this relationship will undoubtedly have massive implications for Apple and Google. But there’s more.
According to antitrust correspondent Khushita Vasant, Cue is concerned about Apple’s future. Cue states, “We’re highly successful. That doesn’t mean we’re going to be around 10 or 20 years down the line.” He also differentiated Apple from an oil or toothpaste company, saying oil and toothpaste “…are things that are going to last forever…20 years from now. 40 years from now, people may not need an iPhone.”
According to Vasant, Cue also reiterated that he still considers Google the best search engine available. During last year’s Google hearings, Cue testified that Apple had evaluated other search engines in 2021, including Microsoft’s Bing, but found that Google provided better results in nearly every case. “There wasn’t a valid alternative,” Cue said.
Apple isn’t interested in building a search engine, so it has to partner with one. However, Cue revealed that Apple is actively exploring adding an AI-based search option in Safari, even going so far as to say Apple has started discussions with Perplexity, a free AI search engine.
It’s probably impossible for us to imagine life without our iPhones. Executives like Cue are tasked with protecting the longevity and resiliency of a massive company. It’s certainly no easy task despite the glamour and money often associated with top executives at well-known companies.
AI isn’t slowing down. Where is it headed, and why would consumers no longer need an iPhone? It could be smart glasses with built-in AI assistants, brain-computer interfaces like Musk’s Neuralink, AI embedded into everything (like our homes and cars) as a personal agent, eliminating the need for apps, or something else. Apple and others are leading the way now, but they certainly must fight to earn sustained relevance.
