In the world of search, no one can match Google. But When a renowned company comes as a competitor then the main challenge starts. Can Apple’s Search Engine defeat Google?
Like Jumbo is to tissues, the brand is associated with searching. For most individuals, Google is their first port of call on the internet, with a market share of 80-90 %. Many people worry that the future will be ruled by Google’s whims, thus calls for legislation to govern the search engine are on the increase.
However, another major technological firm, Apple, is said to be working on a search engine. You’ve probably used Apple’s search engine previously if you have an iPhone.
Apple’s search engine, now dubbed Spotlight, is built into every iPhone. With the addition of new features and algorithmic maturation, Spotlight is beginning to resemble the search engine we’re used to, with a few notable exceptions. Apple is also planning to launch apple console soon. This will add more value for their eco-system.
What is the definition of the term “Spotlight”?
Take out your phone and grab it. From the hemiscreen’s center, swipe down (or for some older systems, swipe left to right). See that top-right search bar? Identify the source of electricity.
Spotlight has been under development since 2004, when it was initially shown off at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. When Tim Cook approached the stage to launch iOS 15 this past spring, it was mentioned once again.
Cook announced some of the most recent (and most significant) enhancements to Spotlight, including improved accessibility and the ability to search for information on your favorite celebrities, bands, movies, and TV series.
Other highlights and appeals of Spotlight include:
In addition to online results, you’ll be able to search local files, messages, applications, and more.
- The ability to read online results without having to go to Google at all on your phone
- A area named “Siri Knowledge” appears on your screen and shows bits of online pages.
- “Siri Suggest Web Results” is a function of Siri that provides customized search results.
- Your phone’s lock screen and unlocked screen both have access to Spotlight.
While Spotlight is still in its infancy, it is generating a lot of buzz and speculation that it might be Google’s main competitor.
Apple’s Spotlight Search Compared to Google Search
There are several differences between Spotlight and Google when they are examined side by side. The following are some of the most significant distinctions that may be seen today (no pun intended).
Natural Outcomes
Google searches the internet for new or updated web sites using automated web crawlers. Images, maps, news stories, movies, and product listings are among the URLs that are indexed based on the material present on their sites and divided into categories (which you may explore selectively).
The PageRank algorithm is Google’s “special sauce.” To match web results with a user’s search, the algorithm employs over 200 ranking variables, as well as NLP and other AI technologies that forecast a user’s search intent. Each Google SERP is notably customized based on the user’s geographical location, search history, browsing history, social connections, and other factors. For selected queries, Google may also display a Knowledge Graph (similar to Spotlight’s Siri Knowledge) on the SERP that provides short answers to commonly asked topics.
Spotlight is a search mechanism that indexes all of your iPhone or Mac’s files and information. Spotlight’s “bots,” like Google’s crawlers, ingest basic file information (name, size, and dates), as well as some content and formatting information. Its indexes are updated on a regular basis, ensuring that you get just the most current and relevant results.
Spotlight, unlike Google, isn’t only for online searches. Its technology is designed to search local results as well as cloud-based and web-based results. To put it another way, you can search anything from YouTube videos to personal images, Wikipedia articles to text messages using Spotlight. In that regard, Spotlight’s SERPs are more tailored than Google’s, but they may also get crowded.
Ads
For nearly a decade, Google has been the most popular online ad platform. It is expected to account for 29% of global digital ad expenditure in 2021. Ads are widely displayed on Google SERPs’ top-of-the-fold placements, and half of consumers aged 18 to 34 have difficulty differentiating between an ad and an organic result.
There are no ads in Spotlight. Paid and organic results are not separated in Spotlight SERPs. Rather, device-specific rankings are used. What you already have saved on your device has a big effect on the order in which results are presented. To put it another way, app developers don’t have to pay Apple more to have their app appear as a top result. To make their applications discoverable by Spotlight, they just have to add a few lines of code. (However, Apple still has to work on making the results more relevant.) In a 9to5Google test, Google Assistant outperformed Siri in understanding the whole context of a search by a wide margin.)
Interaction with the user
Google has long influenced our perceptions of what a search engine should look like and how it should function. Its basic UI has stayed mostly unchanged over the years, yet it has undergone changes that only an SEO with a keen eye can see. Google has experimented with nested feature snippets, indented URLs, and “short video” portions inside SERPs in recent years, for example.
While Google Chrome is the most popular desktop browser, Safari is the most popular mobile browser. On smaller displays, Safari’s UI is perhaps more versatile than Chrome’s. It takes some time to become used to Spotlight. Apple is most recognized for its experiences, after all. (Google, on the other hand, has the advantage in terms of data collection volume.)
Because it gives information from a variety of sources, the main challenge for Spotlight will be decluttering SERPs. Currently, you may need to navigate through numerous sections to identify the sort of material you’re searching for (whether it’s a definition, app, text, picture, or anything else) before being able to filter for specific information. Spotlight, on the other hand, enables you to accomplish a variety of tasks with fewer touches after you’ve found what you’re searching for: install programs, view online pages, and access emails or other files straight from Spotlight.
Privacy
Google has been chastised in the past for its monitoring tactics, which are used to provide customized advertisements. Consider how, when you search for a new watch on Google, your buddy on Instagram in another room may get an ad for the same item. Google utilizes your IP address and social graph to send adverts to you and your friends, blurring more borders than most people are comfortable with.
Following a technical investigation of Google’s user monitoring, Mozilla informed Forbes that “Chrome is the only major browser that does not provide real tracking protection.” Despite the fact that Google provides incognito mode, a Vanderbuilt University investigation showed that the internet giant continues to gather user data, leading to a $5 billion class action lawsuit.
Apple, on the other hand, has always advocated for consumer privacy. Record App Activity, Mail Privacy Protection, and Improved Intelligent Tracking Prevention are among the privacy enhancements included in iOS 15. All of these prohibit applications and advertising from monitoring your location through pixels, IP addresses, and other techniques.
Spotlight, in a similar vein, provides a more secure means of accessing internet and local data. Apart from avoiding adverts and monetizing data kept on your device, Apple maintains that it does not develop user profiles the way standard search engines do. Spotlight never saves or transmits any user information. Spotlight also works with developers to make app data accessible in Spotlight, allowing you to search for and access app content straight from Spotlight.
The Final Conclusion
Apple is a hardware firm first and foremost. Search is where Google’s skill is.
Google has a huge data warehouse. Apple, on the other hand, is sitting on a pile of new ideas.
They are not and will likely never be direct rivals. Apple, on the other hand, will likely succeed in a few important areas as it develops its own method for doing searches on Macs and iPhones: privacy, interaction, and device cohesiveness.
On the mobile front, Google is expected to struggle, particularly if Apple restricts access to user data and uses its own search to give more tailored results. What happens after that begs the question. What will developers do to improve their app’s visibility on Apple’s search engine results pages (SERPs)? Spotlight will be use in a variety of other ways by Apple.
