The software was terribly received and plagued with bugs, but Apple seems to have learned from its mistakes. There's a precedent for this: Back in 2012, Apple replaced Google Maps with an in-house Apple Maps app. The Wall Street Journal reports that in December more than half of all US mobile traffic came from Safari. It is not clear what Apple might use instead, whether Yahoo, Bing, or an in-house search, but any change would be a big loss for Google. Some reports say Apple is considering dropping Google as its default search engine on the iPhone's Safari web browser. But this may just be the start for Google. Google's dropping search share is painful for the company, but given that Firefox is used by only 12% of Americans, the long-term effects will be limited.
It's a big message at the top of search results, taking up prime advertising space and pushing the actual information down the page. Google's displeasure is now becoming clear, Search Engine Land reports, with the search engine prominently asking Firefox users who do not have Google set as their default search to change when they visit the site. While Google is still the clear market leader, it is still embarrassing for the company: Search is Google's bread and butter - the company's name has become a verb synonymous with finding information online. And Google's has correspondingly declined: In February, its market share dropped below 75% for the first time since 2008. Since then, Yahoo's share of the search market has grown healthily, from 8.6% in November to 10.6% today. Mozilla, the company behind the web browser Firefox, decided not to renew its relationship with the search giant, instead signing a five-year deal to make Yahoo the default search engine on the browser.
Google suffered a noticeable defeat in November.