October 25, 2003: Mac OS X Panther arrives on Macintosh computers, bringing several useful new features and making Safari Apple’s default web browser for the first time. The new Exposé feature in OS X Panther lets Mac users instantly view all open windows at once. And the new iChat AV allows people to talk with […] (via Cult of Mac - Tech and culture through an Apple lens)

Google’s Sundar Pichai raised concerns years before he became the company’s chief executive officer that its deal with Apple had “bad optics” and negatively impacted user experience because there was no choice of which search engine to use in the company’s web browser. DOJ antitrust lawsuit targets Google’s multibillion-dollar default search pact with Apple Leah Nylen for Bloomberg News: ‎ Emails Pichai wrote in 2007 to Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, among other executives, were introduced as evidence in the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Alphabet Inc.’s Google, which is underway in Washington. The emails, written when Pichai was in charge of Google’s Chrome browser, show concerns about the company’s agreement to pay Apple in exchange for being…

Apple held talks with DuckDuckGo to replace Alphabet subsidiary Google’s search engine as the default for the private mode on Apple’s Safari browser, but ultimately rejected the idea, the U.S. government’s antitrust trial revealed Wednesday via transcripts. Leah Nylen for Bloomberg News: ‎ US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Wednesday that he would unseal the testimony of DuckDuckGo Chief Executive Officer Gabriel Weinberg and Apple executive John Giannandrea, both of whom testified in the Washington trial in closed sessions. Weinberg testified that DuckDuckGo had about 20 meetings and phone calls with Apple executives, including the head of Safari, in 2018 and 2019 about becoming the default search engine for private browsing mode. In private mode, Safari doesn’t track websites that…

A Microsoft executive complained that when it came to the search-engine wars with Alphabet subsidiary Google, the company’s Bing was never more than a bargaining chip to Apple. Bloomberg News: ‎ Microsoft has been trying for years to displace Google as the default search engine for iPhones, but Apple never seriously considered switching to Bing, Mikhail Parakhin, the head of Microsoft’s advertising and web services, said during the US government’s antitrust trial against Google in Washington. “Apple is making more money on Bing existing than Bing does,” the Microsoft executive said. Parakhin, who joined Microsoft in 2019 from Russian search engine Yandex NV, said Microsoft met with Apple as recently as 2021 to discuss a potential switch to Bing, but…

Apple today released Safari 17, the newest version of the Safari browser. Safari 17 can be downloaded on macOS Monterey and macOS Ventura, and it brings some of the macOS Sonoma features to older operating systems. Safari 17 introduces support for Profiles, so browsing can be separated into topics like work and personal, plus it adds enhanced private browsing functionality that locks the private browser when it is not in use. Apple says that search has been improved to provide more relevant results, and multiple tabs can be selected to add them to the tab bar or a Tab Group. Apple's full release notes for the update are below:Safari 17 introduces new features, even faster performance, and improved security. -…

Apple Maps became iPhone’s default in 2012. By 2014, Google Maps had lost at least 60% of its mobile traffic a court case reveals. With iOS 17, Apple Maps introduced offline maps, so users can easily select an area on their device and download it with just a tap. While offline, users are able to access turn-by-turn navigation and see their estimated time of arrival, seen here on a route to Yosemite National Park. Bloomberg News: Two years after Apple Inc. dropped Google Maps as its default service on iPhones in favor of its own app, Google had regained only 40% of the mobile traffic it used to have on its mapping service, a Google executive testified in the antitrust…