3 ms·

This. So many folks (myself included) rely on our phones for GPS & navigation, and having the UX for that be monopolized by one player is leaving a huge use ca

This. So many folks (myself included) rely on our phones for GPS & navigation, and having the UX for that be monopolized by one player is leaving a huge use case for your phone in the hands of your biggest competitor. I think Apple has the opportunity to make a very unique & compelling experience, with their deep integration with the OS that they don't offer to outside developers. Though we'll see if they can actually execute.

amelius 8y ago
> and having the UX for that be monopolized by one player is leaving a huge use case for your phone in the hands of your biggest competitor. This makes me wonder: where is "Apple search"?
- swaroop 8y ago
  It's called Siri and Spotlight :) For example, see Safari Suggestions - https://imgur.com/a/uyd20c6 https://imgur.com/a/uyd20c6
  - amelius 8y ago
    That would be true if Siri and Spotlight were the main entry-point for users to start a web search, and I doubt that.
    - saagarjha 8y ago
      For many Safari users, it is the the main entry-point for searches.
    - mattnewton 8y ago
      It’s already a common user behavior to type your query right into the address bar, and that’s where this is in Safari. Spotlight is just the (confusing imo) branding
      - JadeNB 8y ago
        > Spotlight is just the (confusing imo) branding Wait, isn't Spotlight the name for Apple's local search (and maybe it's now used for whatever kind of unified search iOS likes to do?), whereas Safari's feature of treating things entered into the address bar that don't look like URLs as search queries is just a common redirection feature (analogous to the Firefox Awesomebar/Omnibar/whatever it's called now) that has nothing in particular to do with Spotlight?
  - JadeNB 8y ago
    Doesn't your screenshot show that these Safari Suggestions are powered by Google?
- _ph_ 8y ago
  There are other big search engines beyond Google. And currently Google pays Apple quite a bit of money to stay the main search engine on Safari. But I would be very suprised, if Apple had not a team working on search algorithms, so they could start a search engine of their own, if the need is there.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- scarface74 8y ago
  Apple wouldn't do search to go head on with Google. Apple's search would be very specific to the domains that it cares about businesses for Maps, music, movies, etc.
  - john_minsk 8y ago
    And yet, any search on Apple devices is super weak
    - scarface74 8y ago
      Siri search works well enough within the domains that it does directly -- restaurants (integrated with Yelp), locations, movies, movies, tv shows, sports, etc. Anything it can't do directly it punts to Bing.
- s3r3nity 8y ago
  Search in general is _hard._ But vertical specific searches & use cases can be tackled by different apps. I would argue that my pushing for more prolific relationships with developers, you sort of chip away at this competitive threat with more specific, vertical-oriented searching experiences. Example: I'm searching for restaurants nearby, I _could_ open Google, or I could leverage the Yelp/OpenTables of the app store. Same thing for travel - flights, hotels, etc. all have apps that could, in theory, better serve the user than the catch-all "Google Search" app. Maps is a slightly different beast; it's almost as ubiquitous as the "Phone" app itself .

amelius 8y ago

> and having the UX for that be monopolized by one player is leaving a huge use case for your phone in the hands of your biggest competitor. This makes me wonder: where is "Apple search"?

swaroop 8y ago
It's called Siri and Spotlight :) For example, see Safari Suggestions - https://imgur.com/a/uyd20c6 https://imgur.com/a/uyd20c6
- amelius 8y ago
  That would be true if Siri and Spotlight were the main entry-point for users to start a web search, and I doubt that.
  - saagarjha 8y ago
    For many Safari users, it is the the main entry-point for searches.
  - mattnewton 8y ago
    It’s already a common user behavior to type your query right into the address bar, and that’s where this is in Safari. Spotlight is just the (confusing imo) branding
    - JadeNB 8y ago
      > Spotlight is just the (confusing imo) branding Wait, isn't Spotlight the name for Apple's local search (and maybe it's now used for whatever kind of unified search iOS likes to do?), whereas Safari's feature of treating things entered into the address bar that don't look like URLs as search queries is just a common redirection feature (analogous to the Firefox Awesomebar/Omnibar/whatever it's called now) that has nothing in particular to do with Spotlight?
- JadeNB 8y ago
  Doesn't your screenshot show that these Safari Suggestions are powered by Google?
_ph_ 8y ago
There are other big search engines beyond Google. And currently Google pays Apple quite a bit of money to stay the main search engine on Safari. But I would be very suprised, if Apple had not a team working on search algorithms, so they could start a search engine of their own, if the need is there.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
scarface74 8y ago
Apple wouldn't do search to go head on with Google. Apple's search would be very specific to the domains that it cares about businesses for Maps, music, movies, etc.
- john_minsk 8y ago
  And yet, any search on Apple devices is super weak
  - scarface74 8y ago
    Siri search works well enough within the domains that it does directly -- restaurants (integrated with Yelp), locations, movies, movies, tv shows, sports, etc. Anything it can't do directly it punts to Bing.
s3r3nity 8y ago
Search in general is _hard._ But vertical specific searches & use cases can be tackled by different apps. I would argue that my pushing for more prolific relationships with developers, you sort of chip away at this competitive threat with more specific, vertical-oriented searching experiences. Example: I'm searching for restaurants nearby, I _could_ open Google, or I could leverage the Yelp/OpenTables of the app store. Same thing for travel - flights, hotels, etc. all have apps that could, in theory, better serve the user than the catch-all "Google Search" app. Maps is a slightly different beast; it's almost as ubiquitous as the "Phone" app itself .