Recently I wrote on how Google’s business apps were taking a piece of the proverbial pie out of Microsoft’s business software user. Now Business Insire is reporting that Google is affecting things on the Apple front too. With the release of many Google Apps for use on the iOS platform, Apple applications have some apparently serious competition.
By replicating Google’s Android based apps to work with the iOS platform, Apple users now have alternatives to the standard apps that were pre-installed. While many have already been made public, Google’s iOS developer Ken Bongort stated that the plan is “to create and design new experiences for all Google apps on the iOS platform." It seems that, as one blogger put it, Google wants to own the iPhone.
In July, iPhone users had access to the launching of Google’s Chrome browser, instead of just Apple’s Safari. In October they received the ability to use Google Search with a function similar to the Siri voice feature. Also available now is a Gmail app to directly compete with Apple Mail, as well as a new iOS YouTube app. In September, Apple had dropped the contract with Google that had supplied them with the data for their map application, and the results were less than desirable. However, in December, a replacement for the frustrating Apple maps became available with the iOS version of Google Maps, which saw 10 million downloads of the app in just 48 hours.
It was only this past November that some raised concerns as to whether Apple would approve the iOS Google Maps app, but they did. On Dec. 31st, Business Insider reported, “AppData, which monitors iTunes App Store rankings, reports that the numbers one and two free iPhone apps right now are YouTube and Google Maps.” This of course thrills Google executives, but is quite frustrating to Apple’s executives. John Gruber, an influential Apple blogger states:
I think Apple — where by “Apple” I mean the company’s collective executive leadership — is seething regarding the way this has played out. Everything from Apple Maps being the butt of jokes to the accolades and joy that have accompanied the release of the new Google Maps iOS app. Seething.
These developments may cause Apple to take additional actions, like dropping Google as their default search feature. They already dropped the Google name itself from their search bar in Safari, though the engine is the same. Is that a sign of things to come? Two-thirds of Google’s search traffic comes from iOS users as of last year (2011), and 95% of the company’s revenue is connected to their search ads in general. So if Apple makes the change, it would be a large blow for Google. But, it could also lead to more complaints and frustration from Apple’s users, who are not as concerned with the Apple vs. Google war as they are with the features they are getting from many Google apps to get the job done. Hopefully Apple will consider that and ask themselves if the potential backlash is worth it.
Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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