Since its conception the Apple-made browser Safari has been using the Google search engine. Now that the deal between Apple and Google is fast approaching its end, rumors have it that Microsoft and Yahoo is already knocking on Apple's door in hopes of being the next default search engine for Safari.
The search engine war is already heating up as various companies are vying control for Apple's browser. Analysts notice that since Firefox changed its default search engine to Yahoo, the company is slowly gaining momentum against Google, according to Quartz.
A report form StatCounter revealed that the United States market share of Google share dropped below 75%, this is the first time Google hit that margin since 2008.
Many analysts ponder that if Safari drops Google as its default search engine, the latter will potentially face a massive drop in terms of mobile market traffic, paid clicks and overall mobile market share.
Right now, Safari has a tremendous potential in attracting traffic. In January alone, the browser was responsible for 48 percent of overall smartphone searches, 69 percent on tablets and 9 percent on desktops.
Tech analysts currently speculate that whoever wins the default search engine for Safari will definitely be on top of the mobile platform traffic.
Another interesting twist to this story is a job listing posted on the Apple website. The job summary is looking for a qualified "Engineering Project Manager - Apple Search," according to Search Engine Land.
Just hours after the job was posted, rumors began hitting the internet about a secret Apple project. From the project title alone it is clear that Apple is developing some sort of search engine.
Whether Apple's secret search engine project will be released on Safari, no one knows for certain.
Apple did not offer a comment about the project.