Apple and Google have been locked in a heated battle in the smartphone arena for nearly a decade now, but no matter how successful the iPhone becomes, Google can always take comfort in the fact that it has something Apple doesn’t: the biggest search engine in the world.
But that might not always be the case.
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As discovered by Cult of Mac on Wednesday, Apple has recently posted two job openings for a mysterious project called Apple Search. Here’s how Apple describes the platform in the job summary for an engineering project manager:
“Apple seeks a technical, driven and creative program manager to manage backend operations projects for a search platform supporting hundreds of millions of users. Play a part in revolutionizing how people use their computers and mobile devices. Manage operational projects that support groundbreaking technology and the most scalable big-data systems in existence.”
It’s unlikely that Apple is going to attempt to compete with Google directly by opening a search engine site of its own — rather, Apple Search probably pertains to a project that will enhance the capabilities of Spotlight, Siri and possibly even Safari.
As Engadget notes, it would be a huge blow to Google if Apple replaced the default search engine on its browser with its own first-party initiative. We’ll be on the lookout to see if more job postings crop up in the coming weeks and months.
