Microsoft: Google and Apple's mobile search in sights with possible new 'super app'
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After watching Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) practically own the mobile search market, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is said to be looking at building a new "super app" that would attempt to break its two rivals stranglehold in that mobile-technology arena.
Microsoft's (MSFT) "super app" could be designed to bring shopping, messaging, web search, news feeds and other services into one app, similar to how Tencent's (OTCPK:TCEHY) WeChat operates in China. According to a report from The Information, one of the people close to the matter said that WeChat, which also offers online games and grocery ordering as part of its app, among other services, was part of the inspiration for the Microsoft (MSFT) plan.
Elon Musk has also publicly discussed turning Twitter (TWTR) into a super app, bringing payments, social networking, search and more under one roof.
Microsoft (MSFT) discontinued its Windows Mobile operating system more than a decade ago, effectively ceding control of the smartphone market to Apple's (AAPL) iOS and Google's (GOOG) (GOOGL) Android operating systems, both of which have their own app stores and control distribution of apps on smartphones.
Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft (MSFT) executives have said they would want the yet-to-exist app to boost its advertising business and its Bing search engine, as well as get more people using its Teams messaging service, The Information added.
Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.
At this point, it is unclear if Microsoft (MSFT) would ever launch the app, but under CEO Satya Nadella, there has been a push to make Microsoft Bing work better with other Microsoft mobile products, integrating it to work with Teams, Outlook and other Microsoft products.
The news outlet added that a super app could help Microsoft (MSFT) generate more revenue from consumers. The company is attempting to acquire Activision Blizzard (ATVI) for $69B to generate more revenue from video games and has looked at acquiring ByteDance's (BDNCE) TikTok, Pinterest (PINS) and chat app Discord as other potential consumer-facing purchases in the past.
The Information reported that the idea of a Microsoft (MSFT) super app was first introduced in 2019 when the company hired Mikhail Parakhin from Yandex (YNDX) to work on products including a mobile web browser, ads, search and more. Yandex (YNDX) offers its own version of a super app, known as Yandex Go, which is also said to be an inspiration for the Microsoft (MSFT) super app.
The news outlet noted that Microsoft (MSFT) is well aware that it would still be at the mercy of the two tech giants, adding that Microsoft (MSFT) has occasionally bid to replace Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) to be the default browser on the iOS version of Safari.
Apple (AAPL) does not break down how much revenue it generates from Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) being the default search engine on Safari, but it is widely believed to be worth billions of dollars per year as a result of the highly lucrative mobile advertising market.
On Monday, Microsoft (MSFT) said it would raise the price of Xbox first-party games next month to $69.99, matching the prices of its rivals.