[uniqueid]

My take is that the timing is perfect, so the rumor is likely true, but that Apple is going to screw it up royally.

This is a great time for a big competitor to start a search engine. Google's reputation and search quality aren't what they used to be. Google is also in a MS antitrust situation, where they have to fight with a hand behind their back.

If Apple were to work with others to set up some sort of "search foundation," I'll bet its search product could mop up a lot of the search market. As a result, Apple would have more leverage over Google, and more momentum. They'd have some measure of control over the user experience, even via a shared "foundation".

But that's not what is going to happen!

Apple management is going to release some weird, overly strategic product with Apple-branding all over it. Users don't want a "Siri" or "Spotlight" or "Apple" branded search engine (assuming Apple isn't so deliriously drunk on "clever strategy" that they don't make search an "app" instead of a webpage). It will also detract from Apple's "privacy" messaging, because they'll not only be pushing users aggressively to store all their data in iCloud, but also appear to have access to users' search histories.

I think Apple's search engine is going to fail horribly, despite fate giving them a golden opportunity to plough into Google's market. Apple is going to "sherlock" itself.

[foobarian]

Unless they also build an ad network to go with the search engine this will be a money sink and nobody good will want to work on it. Internal incentives will line up such that it will be guaranteed to languish.