A report today from Bloomberg that Apple has reached an agreement with Baidu, China’s largest search engine. The agreement will provide iPhone users in China the option to utilize Baidu as a search option. Baidu commands a leading marketshare in China, handling roughy eighty percent of search queries.
This move is yet another in a string of decisions that will adversely affect Google. Apple is rumored to be replacing the Google maps technology that drives the Maps app with their own. Adding the Baidu option impacts Google, who will see less searches which translates to less revenue from search.
China accounted for 20% of Apple’s iPhone sales last quarter and Apple’s CEO Tim Cook sees the country as being a tremendous area for growth.
Guessing these would be akin to the iPhone getting Google as an option for search. Wouldn’t it be interesting if Apple were to get into the search engine business?
Source: Bloomberg
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