Epic Games has accused Google Play of maintaining an illegal monopoly on Android apps.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai is defending his company's practices in an antitrust trial focused on the Google Play Store.
Google pays a 36% share of its search revenue to Apple, amounting to over $10 billion annually.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has recently been in the spotlight, defending his company's practices in court. The focus of the trial is the business operations of the Google Play Store, which is the primary distributor of apps for Google's Android software. The gaming company Epic Games, known for its popular game 'Fortnite', has accused Google Play of maintaining an illegal monopoly on Android apps. Epic Games argues that Google Play's payment processing system, which takes a commission of 15% to 30% from in-app purchases, is detrimental to consumers and developers alike.
In the midst of these allegations, Pichai confirmed that Google pays a significant portion of its search revenue to Apple. Specifically, Apple receives a 36% share of the revenue earned from advertising through searches in the Safari browser. This arrangement is part of Google's strategy to be the default search engine on Apple devices, a privilege for which Google reportedly pays over $10 billion annually. These payments fall under the category of Traffic Acquisition Costs (TAC).
The disparity in payments between Apple and other companies, such as Samsung, is attributed to different arrangements with telecom carriers. However, the specifics of these arrangements and the exact figures involved have not been disclosed. As the trial continues, further details about Google's business practices and partnerships may come to light.
Google reportedly pays over $10 billion annually to Apple for being the default search engine on Apple devices, a cost categorized under Traffic Acquisition Costs (TAC).