Google has paid Apple $1bn to keep its search on iPhones – and has generated over $36bn from Android
Google is paying a pretty penny to remain the default search bar on Apple’s iPhones.
The tech giant paid its rival $1bn in 2014 to keep its search engine on iOS products like iPhones and iPads, court records have shown.
Apple was also reportedly raking in a 34 per cent slice of Google’s sales through iOS devices “at one point”.
The information comes from court records from Oracle’s lawsuit against Google. Oracle is seeking more than $1bn in damages from its rival for copyright infringement.
The sums Google pays Apple have long been speculated, but the tech firms themselves have kept schtum. And Google has filed to have the court papers sealed, writing:
The specific financial terms of Google’s agreement with Apple are highly sensitive to both Google and Apple. Both Apple and Google have always treated this information as extremely confidential.
The same court records revealed Google has made over $36bn in revenue from its own operating system Android, through advertising and Google Play.