Apple's search deal with Google is at the heart of the trial

The United States versus Google trial has highlighted the significance of the search deals Google makes with other vendors, particularly with Apple. The trial argues that these deals provide an illegal benefit to Google's search monopoly. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, testified that being the default search engine in Safari gives Google such market share and search queries that no other startup could compete. The trial suggests that Apple's search partnership is a moat protecting Google's search dominance, and if it were given to another search provider, it would create a serious competitor to Google overnight.