The value of being the first search choice
A default is more than a convenient setting. Many people keep the search engine already selected rather than spend time finding and changing the option. That habit sends a steady stream of searches to Google—and search traffic can generate advertising revenue when people see or click ads alongside results.
For Google, paying Apple helps protect that stream. For Apple, the payment turns control over a prominent choice on its devices into income. The arrangement is valuable precisely because it can influence behavior without preventing users from choosing another search engine.
What Apple keeps—and what remains unknown
The precise amount Apple keeps is not publicly established by the fact described here. The deal’s financial terms are private, so an exact figure or share would be guesswork. What can be said is that the payment is an exchange: Google pays for preferred placement, while Apple provides access to a large audience and a setting many users may leave unchanged.
That creates a business trade-off for Apple. It can earn money from Google’s position while still allowing users to switch. But the more valuable that default becomes to Google, the more important the arrangement—and Apple’s ability to negotiate over it—becomes to both companies.
