New Chrome warning issued for 1.4 billion Apple iPhone users
We all know relationships can be complicated, but few are as complicated as the relationship between Apple and Google. Creepy new attack ad Google has issued a clear message to its 1.4 billion users urging them to stop using Chrome on their iPhones.
So why now? Google is on a mission to convert Safari users to Chrome, which currently powers the majority of search requests from iPhones. Financial Arrangements The company has a deal with Apple that makes Google Search the default in Safari, but that deal could soon be terminated due to monopoly investigations in the US and Europe, so Google is working on a Plan B.
Apple sign in New York
Chrome only has a 30% install base among iPhone users, and Google aims to increase that to 50%. Bringing another 300 million iPhone users into the data tentApple clearly wants to stop this from happening: 300 million gazes generate significant revenue online, and as search changes with the introduction of on-device AI, it will become a battleground for retention and conversion.
You may have seen Apple’s Safari privacy billboards suddenly appearing in your city. Local campaign in San Francisco is now being rolled out globally. The ad doesn’t mention Chrome, but it doesn’t need to. The rest of it doesn’t matter. Safari and Chrome are 90 and above Market share in mobile devices. And when it comes to the iPhone, it’s a head-to-head battle between the two.
Privacy is Chrome’s biggest weakness. Tracking cookies remainPlans to phase it out are already being delayed as Google navigates a regulatory minefield. Privacy is greatly reduced than users had expected. caveat Google collects device data from Chrome users using hidden settings that can’t be disabled.
Apple has further fueled this privacy battle with a new video ad that uses Hitchcock’s “The Birds” as a reference to smartphone privacy. The ad is powerful and memorable, and the message is clear: if you don’t want to be monitored online, use Safari. In other words, quite simply, if you don’t want to be monitored online, don’t use Google Chrome. We have reached out to Google for comment on the new ad:
Hitchcock’s “The Birds”
The Birds, released in the 1960s, was shocking, frightening and thought-provoking. Its message was that there is a threat that we can’t really see, but that is everywhere. As one of the characters says in the film, “Who are you? What are you? Where do you come from? I think you are the cause of all this. I think you are evil.”
The video suggests that this is an attempt to target Android users to switch to iPhone, but that’s not the point. No one is going to abandon their Android just to have access to a different browser, no matter how impactful the ad. This is an attempt to keep iPhone users locked into Apple’s cage. But even so, it may not be that simple.
The harsh reality for Apple is that users prefer Google search, and Apple itself reportedly feels it’s better than other options. This is similar to how Apple killed Google Maps a few years ago, and was subsequently forced to reverse course. Even if Google is removed as the default search in Safari, users will likely be able to manually set it.
That begs the question: is Google offering advanced AI search features in Chrome that aren’t available elsewhere? We know such a move has been considered, but rejected for now. But this browser battlefield is just getting started. And while 300 million Safari users belong to Apple for now, watch this space…
