Google’s Fear, Apple’s Curiosity

About a week after Seongsam Electronics released the Galleon.

Google headquarters in the United States.

From the very beginning, Google had championed freewheeling creativity and always made a point of projecting a bright, open atmosphere.

The company’s philosophy was simple: good ideas and efficient work came from a good mood.

So they had always tried to keep the workplace light and cheerful.

But now, in the developer office hidden deepest inside the building, a heavy silence hung in the air.

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No one said a word.

The only sounds were the frantic clatter of keyboards as dozens of senior engineers typed away.

Tatata-tak.

Tata-tak.

Tak~ tata-tak.

On their monitors, the search engine called Search, which Another Technology had launched yesterday, was running.

Alongside it, the code used to analyze that search engine filled the screens.

“……This Search thing makes no sense.”

Someone muttered in an exhausted voice.

That voice opened the floodgates, and sighs broke out all over the room.

“This is impossible. To get a response speed like this on top of the current TCP/IP protocol…… there’s no physical explanation for it.”

“Packet loss is zero. Zero. How is that even possible…… what on earth is this data compression algorithm?”

“It’s at least four times more efficient than what we use.”

“The server is in South Korea, and yet the latency across the Pacific to the U.S. is shorter than from a local server? Do you honestly think that makes sense?”

“It’s physically impossible…… and yet it’s actually working.”

It was an office where engineers were sounding equal parts awe and terror.

And in one corner of that office sat an impressive private room.

It belonged to Amit Singhal, Google’s senior vice president of search.

As the vice president, Amit’s expression was naturally no better.

“…….”

Amit Singhal covered his face with both hands and glared somewhere across his desk.

On that desk sat Seongsam Electronics’ brand-new smartphone from Korea, the Galleon.

And on its screen, the app at the center of all this trouble, Search, was running.

A pitch-black background.

And a single line for a search bar.

It looked similar to Google’s search bar, but the background was black, as if it were determined to emphasize that it was the exact opposite of Google.

……Where on earth did a search engine like this come from? If something like this were going to appear, shouldn’t there at least have been rumors?

As Amit was dazedly thinking that, someone knocked and came in.

“I-I’m sorry to interrupt, V-vice President.”

It was an engineer, Jimmy.

The moment Amit saw his pale face, he asked at once,

“Jimmy! What about the reverse-engineering results? Did you analyze the search engine?”

“I-I did, but…… it f-failed.”

“Failed? You?”

When Amit asked in surprise, Jimmy shrank even further and continued.

“I-I mentioned it in another conference room before…… It seems the c-code is still a-alive, just like then. Every time I try to d-decompile it, the source code changes s-structure on its own.”

“…….”

“I-I told you. Another Technology’s algorithm is s-something strange. The obfuscation is done in a way I c-can’t even understand…… it’s just t-too efficient.”

“Ha…….”

Amit Singhal sent a sigh into the empty air.

For Jimmy to say that much……

“But Jimmy, you said you told people that in a previous meeting?”

“Yes. It was the meeting where they decided to p-put Another Technology’s search engine into Android OS…….”

“You mean the meeting Andy was in? Andy Rubin?”

“Th-that’s right…….”

Amit Singhal bit his lip.

That bastard Andy Rubin…… he didn’t say a single word to me about this……

If Amit had been in that meeting and Jimmy had issued a warning, he would never have approved it.

Jimmy had a weak constitution, couldn’t work long hours, and was too timid to speak his mind.

That was why his genius was often hidden beneath the surface.

But Jimmy is one of the finest talents we have at Google.

Still, Amit had never heard anyone mention ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that Jimmy had warned them about Another Technology’s search engine.

It wasn’t in the minutes, either.

At best, the only thing Amit had heard was a report that sounded more like an order: “For the sake of energizing the Android ecosystem, allow that insignificant search engine from a small startup.”

So the one making the mess is someone else, and the one who has to clean it up is me…… Fuck.

It wasn’t certain, but the technical polish of Another Technology’s Search was clearly beyond the next-generation search engine Google had been aiming for over the next ten years.

Maybe it wasn’t just ten years ahead. Maybe twenty, or more.

Closing that gap was…… close to impossible.

Amit held back another sigh with all his might and said to Jimmy,

“……Jimmy, good work. You can head home for today.”

“Ah…… yes. T-then I’ll go rest at home for now, so call me anytime if you need me…….”

“No, you must be exhausted. You’ve done enough. Take a few days off and rest properly. You’ve worked hard. I’ll call you back when it’s time to come in.”

“Y-yes…….”

After Jimmy replied and left the office,

the secretary came in right away and said,

“Vice President, you’re being summoned to the CEO conference room.”

“Huu…….”

Amit Singhal bit his lip.

It felt like the time had finally come to clean up someone else’s mess.

* * *

Google CEO conference room.

Three men who ruled Google sat there.

Google cofounder Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and the current CEO, Eric Schmidt.

Even in a CEO meeting, under normal circumstances they probably would have worn sandals and sprawled on a couch.

They might have eaten snacks or drunk beer, too.

That was Google.

But today, the atmosphere was different.

“……Report, Amit.”

Larry Page spoke in a low voice. Amit swallowed a sigh and began.

“First…… based on our analysis so far, Search responds on average 3.5 seconds faster than Google’s search engine.”

“……3.5 seconds?”

“T-they’re really that fast?”

“I can’t believe it.”

All three of them were shocked.

In ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a search engine, 3.5 seconds was absurd.

Think about it. If you searched the web and, before even counting to one…… two…… three, you were already wondering whether the connection had gone wrong, wouldn’t that be your first thought?

“You mean 3.5 seconds, not 0.3? Really?”

“Yes.”

“In a web environment, 3.5 seconds is an eternity. These days people hit the back button if something takes even one second too long.”

“I know. But the more shocking thing is…… the accuracy.”

Amit Singhal continued, showing the Galleon smartphone he had brought with trembling hands.

On its screen was the black search bar of Search.

“I’ll type ‘Apple’ into Search.”

He entered “Apple” and pressed the search button.

Results appeared immediately.

“And…… on our computer, let’s search for ‘Apple’ on Google.”

Tak.

Amit did the same search on Google.

It was the same search term.

But the results on the screen were clearly different.

Showing the results from Search, Amit said,

“As you all know, there are two standards for a good search engine. First, speed. Second, how accurately it brings users the information they want.”

“True.”

“Now think about it by that standard. If someone searched for ‘Apple’ at Google headquarters, what would they want to see?”

“…….”

“Obviously, what’s showing up in Search. Apple’s stock price, iPhone rumors…… things like that. But what comes up in our Google search is…… well, this is…….”

Amit, already tired from speaking, couldn’t quite finish the sentence.

The quality of the results was different.

Search was showing Apple’s stock price, while Google search was showing “how to make your butt look like an apple.”

Of course, that was only a lower-ranked result. Still, it was definitely on the main page.

After catching his breath, Amit went on.

“Search, in the truest sense, shows users the ‘answer’ they’re actually looking for.”

“…….”

“And it skips the whole process of having to click through links and hunt for information, the way we do.”

“So it gives you the result directly. And that result is what the user wants.”

“Exactly. And you gentlemen know better than anyone how big a leap it is to remove even one step from that process.”

At Amit’s words, the two men, including the CEO, nodded.

……This is dangerous.

The three leaders of Google now understood with certainty that Search was fatal to Google.

Google’s business model was search advertising.

It made money when users entered a search term and then had to wander through the many links and ads on the results page.

But this search engine called Search had reduced the time users spent “wandering” to zero.

With no ads at all, it simply tossed the answer onto a black background in white text.

They had no idea how Search would eventually make money, but from the user’s point of view, it was obvious: if you were going to get lost anyway, you might as well use Search instead of Google.

“What do you think would happen if this app became the default search engine on Android?”

At Larry Page’s question, Amit Singhal swallowed and answered.

“Google’s mobile search share will fall below 50 percent within a year. No, maybe…… even faster than that.”

“Damn it!”

Sergey Brin slammed his fist on the table.

“What the hell was Andy Rubin thinking, approving this thing?! They supposedly gave that search engine a free pass into the Android Market!”

“At the time…… they probably thought it was just a common third-party app. They wouldn’t have imagined it was this threatening.”

At their words, Amit almost blurted out, “Jimmy warned them.”

But he couldn’t stab a colleague in the back.

─ …….

After silence dragged on for a while,

“……We have to stop it.”

Larry Page muttered.

“This isn’t just a fast search engine. It’s an OS on top of the OS. It makes users use the internet without going through Google. Can’t we block this search engine from Android right now?”

“There’s no valid reason to remove it. For security concerns, the code is too perfect, and it isn’t harmful. If we force it off…….”

“The antitrust issues would explode. That fucking law.”

“……Yes. Besides, in Korea already, 32 percent of Galleon buyers have installed the app. Its user rating is 4.9 out of 5.”

The Galleon had only been out for a week.

And yet Search had a 32 percent download rate.

An app like that wasn’t something Google could touch lightly. Not unless it was illegal or harmful.

“So what you’re saying is…… we have no choice but to keep it on our Android Market?”

“……Yes.”

“We’re screwed.”

It was only a short sentence from Eric Schmidt, but the weight behind it was crushing.

* * *

At the same time.

At Apple headquarters in California.

Just like Google’s, the atmosphere here was anything but normal.

But unlike Google, the seriousness in the room had a different flavor.

If Google was feeling fear toward Search, this place was watching with curiosity and measuring opportunity.

“Hmm…….”

At the head of the table sat Steve Jobs. He had grown noticeably gaunt lately, but his eyes were still as sharp as ever.

In front of him stood Apple’s key executives: Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Scott Forstall, and others.

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The reason Apple’s executive meetings were so quiet most of the time was because everyone was busy reading Jobs’s mood.

They worried about what he’d explode over next, and how he might attack their mistakes.

But today, the reason for the silence was different.

“I knew Seongsam’s hardware was good, but this ‘Galleon’ smartphone…… honestly, I’m impressed.”

It was the hardware executive who finally broke the silence.

In his hands was Seongsam’s new product, the Galleon.

“The device has almost no gap or looseness. And this display especially…… the color and contrast ratio are clearly superior to the iPhone.”

“What about the touch sensitivity?”

“Compared to us, they’ve caught up to about 80…… no, 90 percent. This isn’t garbage like the Romnia anymore. Seongsam made this in earnest. Hardware alone, it’s definitely a threat.”

The executives’ faces darkened.

It was hard to laugh off Seongsam’s smartphone as an iPhone copycat when the level of refinement was this high.

An air of crisis drifted through the conference room, the sense that the era of Apple’s unchallenged dominance might be ending.

But the real problem wasn’t the shell.

“Hardware isn’t the only issue.”

Phil Schiller, the vice president of marketing, spoke with a grave expression.

“Another Technology has bundled three default applications into Seongsam’s Galleon. One app lets you take a photo and immediately send a fax. Another scans a business card and organizes it instantly. And the third helps you use public transportation efficiently.”

“…….”

“These are functions any businessperson would need. That’s especially true in Asia, though it matters in the U.S. market as well. Well, the public transit app might not even get approved here in America, unlike Korea, but the other two are really…….”

Phil Schiller took a deep breath and continued.

“But there’s an even bigger problem than those three applications. It’s the search engine available for download from the Android Market: Search.”

Phil Schiller launched the black icon in the center of the screen, Search.

And without even the slightest delay, the search bar appeared.

“Some of you may already have tried Search, but at first glance it feels very similar to Google. Only, it’s much faster than Google.

“…….”

“It’s not just speed. The quality of the results is remarkable, too. With no ads at all, it zeroes in precisely on the information the user wants.”

Phil Schiller swallowed and added,

“If consumers came into a store, holding an iPhone in their left hand and a Galleon in their right, and searched on both…… the iPhone would become the ‘slow, frustrating phone.’ It’s a total loss in user experience.”

That was a huge problem—and a real crisis—for Apple.

Up until now, the iPhone’s identity had been that of the most advanced internet device.

But now that title might be stolen by the Android camp.

“……What the hell are the Google guys doing? They’re just letting this run on their own Android?”

“Idiots.”

“For Android to succeed, Seongsam’s Galleon has to succeed. But…… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if they unleash a search engine like this, won’t people stop using their own core search business?”

“There’s something we don’t know.”

“Could it be that even Google can’t tell whether this is good for them or a loss?”

“It has to be a loss. No matter how much they have an OS, if they lose their absolute position in search, Google is finished.”

The executives continued tossing back and forth their complicated theories.

But in the end, one conclusion remained.

If Seongsam Electronics was catching up to Apple in hardware and software was slipping too, then the Apple empire itself could collapse.

But there was no obvious answer.

Google’s search engine was painfully slow, and Apple had no technology of its own for building a search engine.

So the executives looked at one another and talked for a while, but nothing came of it.

And so, once again, they all turned their eyes to one person.

“…….”

Steve Jobs, seated at the head of the table.

Looking at the gaunt, exhausted face of Jobs, the executives couldn’t say a word.

They didn’t want to add to his stress, and yet they still sent him desperate looks, begging him to solve this crisis.

When Apple hit a crisis, Jobs fixed it.

That had always been the case.

That was why, despite receiving all kinds of “varied” evaluations from the board, he had kept his seat as CEO with unshakable force.

He had always been a genius with answers.

“Then.”

Steve Jobs.

After keeping silent for a long while, he slowly opened his mouth.

“Then let’s switch. From Google to Search.”

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─ ……!

─ ……!

─ ……!

At Jobs’s dry remark, the executives forgot to breathe.

“Ever since those bastards at Google made Android and stole Apple, I haven’t liked them.”

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