Here’s the thing about Google’s antitrust case: for all the noise about monopolies and forced breakups, the company just walked away with one major obligation still intact. It can still keep paying Apple.
The Department of Justice tried to put the brakes on the search deal that makes Google the default on iPhones.
That arrangement alone is worth around $20 billion a year to Apple, basically free money for letting Google sit in front of a billion-plus users.
Regulators pushed to kill it. The judge said no. Google can’t demand exclusivity anymore, but it can absolutely keep writing Apple a massive check.
That leaves Apple in a weirdly perfect spot. The iPhone remains the single most important piece of real estate on the internet.
If you want search traffic, you want the iPhone. And while everyone else is fighting about monopolies and data access, Apple gets to collect rent on the whole mess.
It’s worth noting how little Apple has to do here. The company doesn’t run a search engine. It doesn’t control Chrome or Android. It doesn’t even need to pick a winner.
All Apple has to do is keep iOS open enough to give people a choice, and the money keeps rolling in.
That neutrality is actually a superpower, because it forces companies like Google to keep paying for the privilege of sticking around.
If you’re Google, that’s humiliating. The court didn’t break up Chrome or Android, but the one thing you still can’t afford to lose is your spot on the iPhone.
That’s the front door to the web, and now Apple knows you’ll never stop paying for the keys.
Apple just locked in a massive payday. Is this good for iPhone users or bad? Let us know what you think.
