Apple adding Baidu search engine to Chinese iPhones, report says
Apple is planning to add Chinese search engine Baidu as an option in China for its iPhone Safari app’s search window, according to a report.
The Bloomberg report says an announcement from the Cupertino, Calif., company regarding the change could come as early as next week, citing to two people, one of whom did not wish to be named because the plans are private.
The addition of Baidu to the iPhone is a big win for the Chinese company, which already accounts for 80% of the search queries originating from China. Apple, though, probably will not make Baidu the default search engine on its Chinese iPhones, according to one of the sources in the report.
In U.S. versions of the iPhone, the default search engine is Google. Users can change their settings and choose Yahoo or Bing instead.
Apple’s move is the latest as it and Google square off in the mobile realm.
Google debuted digital map features Wednesday. At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference next week, Apple is expected to reveal its own maps app, which may replace Google Maps as the default app for navigation on the iPhone.
The two companies also are the top players in the world of smartphones. Google makes the Android operating system, which controls the majority of the smartphone market, followed by Apple’s iOS.
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