Why Apple suddenly needs Google again
Summary: Before you get caught up in this week's Apple's announcements, there's another factor that could inject new life into the Apple ecosystem.
I've been using iPhone and Android side-by-side every day since the beginning of 2010. Over the past year I've increasingly spent more time on Android because that device knows me better, regularly anticipates my needs, and integrates more smoothly with the services that I care about.
At the center of this experience sits Google Now, one of the first applications that has demonstrated the value of big data to consumers. Apple can't replicate that. It doesn't have enough of the data or the expertise to make it actionable. Even Google can't replicate it on iOS at the moment. It has already released an iPhone version of Google Now, but the service is inconspicuously tucked away in the Google search app and its usefulness is limited by the mediocre iOS notifications system.
The problem is that because of larger business conflicts, Apple has acted punitively toward partners such as Google and Amazon and limited the functionality of their services in the iOS ecosystem. In both cases, it has hurt iOS and Apple's users far more than Google or Amazon.
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In the case of Amazon, Apple disallowed app providers from integrating or even linking to their e-commerce stores from within their iOS apps, unless they shared the revenue with Apple. As a result, Internet companies such as Amazon that already operate on thin profit margins have effectively had to remove shopping functionality from their apps.
