Yahoo in Talks with Apple to Play a Bigger Role in iOS Devices: WSJ

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Yahoo looks to play a more prominent role on Apple’s iOS devices, as ongoing discussions have taken place between both companies.

The two companies have been discussing how more of Yahoo’s services can play a prominent role on Apple’s iPhone and iPad, people briefed on the matter said.

Yahoo already supplies finance and weather data on iOS devices, along with sports stats to Siri. The new arrangements look to possibly get more content from Yahoo Sports, News and other web properties onto iOS devices either pre-loaded or through Siri, according to sources, which cited “no deal is imminent”.

The report goes onto say Apple continues to seek partnerships with other companies to remove its reliance on Google. Sources say Apple has contemplated breaking away from Google’s search, as recent meetings taking place between the Cupertino-based company and other companies with search expertise. However, people familiar with the matter say some Apple executives such as Eddy Cue remain firm on saying they aren’t ready to sacrifice Google’s search results yet as they still are leaders in the area.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has continued to stress partnerships with companies to foster and grow usage of their mobile services to increase revenue (which has been roughly $5 billion annually), as their company does not produce hardware nor own a mobile operating system. Mayer has stated Yahoo has over 200 million monthly visitors to their content services through mobile devices.

Just last month, Yahoo acquired iOS app Summly, for an estimated $30 million dollars.