Apple (News - Alert) doesn’t want to rely solely on Google for its services – so the prominent tech manufacturer is reportedly now in closed-door talks with Yahoo, a distant Google (News - Alert) rival.
The move by Yahoo makes sense because it wants its services to become prominent on the iPhone and iPad, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Also, Yahoo is talking with Google about seeing more sports and news on the devices from Apple. Yahoo could also find more of a role with Siri, a popular voice-activated assistant offered by Apple, The Wall Street Journal reported. And Yahoo could make its Web search results available to Apple.
So far, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has met with Apple’s senior vice president of Internet services, Eddy Cue, The Journal said. But a deal is still a ways off, news reports suggest.
Also, Yahoo is trying to find new ways to connect with mobile devices under the reign of Mayer, according to TMCnet. An Apple-Yahoo deal could make Yahoo more significant when it comes to mobile software.
One key benefit with Yahoo over Google is Google makes competing devices and Android (News - Alert) mobile operating software. Yahoo doesn’t. Nor does Yahoo offer a mobile-app store.
As of now, apps with data from Yahoo Finance and Yahoo's weather site are preloaded on iPhones. Some Yahoo data, such as sports statistics, are used on Siri.
One stumbling block for any Yahoo-Apple new deal is that Microsoft (News - Alert) powers Yahoo's search service, The Journal reported. For instance, Microsoft's Bing search engine provides search results for Yahoo.
In addition, Apple has a commitment to quality – so Yahoo has to be seen as being worthy of a deal.
“Past problems between Google and Apple -- for example, the debacle over the latter's map offering -- notwithstanding, even if there is bad blood between the tech giants, it is unlikely Apple will once again offer a sub-par product before it is ready, just to antagonize its rival and once again annoy its customers,” ZDNet reported.