With partners like this, who needs enemies? Apple asked the judge overseeing Google's U.S. antitrust case to let it intervene and represent itself during the remedy phase of the proceedings. Its primary concern is that it will be denied the over $20 billion in revenues that it currently collects from Google for making its Search service the default on the iPhone.

"Apple must be able to present facts and arguments concerning the proposed final judgement [filed by the U.S. Department of Justice and numerous U.S. states] actual effects on competition and defend Apple's ability to manage its business over the next decade," the Apple filing explains. "Google cannot adequately represent Apple's interests in defending against [the] proposed remedies ... Apple is uniquely positioned to advocate for its users and provide evidence on how the proposed remedies would affect them."

As Apple notes, it stands to lose billions of dollars in revenues each year if the judge prevents Google from paying partners for Search placement: In such a case, Apple would not benefit when its user chose Google Search, as it does now. Worse, Google faces several possible remedies, some of which-like divesting itself of Chrome and possibly Android-pose an even greater threat to the online giant than its search distribution deals. Google, it says, it far more likely to focus on the greater threats in its defense during the remedy trial, and not on the remedy that would impact Apple.

Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue expands on this in a separate filing.

"In 2022, Google paid Apple roughly $20 billion under [a deal in which] Google shares with Apple a percentage of the revenue generated from Apple users search queries," he writes. "The proposed remedy could prohibit Apple from striking certain other deals with Google, such as in the Artificial Intelligence space ... If the [proposed] remedies were implemented, it would hamstring Apple's ability to continue delivering products that best serve its users' needs."

Cue adds that if Google were forced to end its Search revenue share partnerships, Apple would be forced to continue providing Google Search to its users without being paid, or it could remove Google Search as a choice, harming the user experience.

Both filings state clearly that Apple has no intention of creating its own search engine, contrary to rumors.

"Apple does not plan to create a search engine," Cue writes. "Apple is focused on other growth areas. The development of a search engine would require diverting both capital investment and employees because creating a search engine would cost billions of dollars and take many years. Search is rapidly evolving due to recent and ongoing developments in Artificial Intelligence, making it economically risky to devote the huge resources that would be required to create a search engine. And a viable search engine would require building a platform to sell targeted advertising, which is not a core business of Apple."

Apple does, of course, have an advertising business, but Cue describes that as "niche" and "outside of Apple's core expertise." The main Apple filing also notes that "Apple's various search tools receive 'about 10 billion user queries per week'."