Apple and Yahoo said to be in talks for deeper iPhone partnership

SAN FRANCISCO -- Yahoo is said to be in discussions with Apple to make some of its services more prominent on Apple’s iPhone and iPad.

The two Silicon Valley companies are talking about getting more sports and news content loaded onto Apple devices and to expand a partnership with voice activated assistant Siri, which bypasses search and gives users information directly when they speak into their phones, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Yahoo, which is keen to forge partnerships with mobile players, has also looked into making Web search results available to Apple so that it could rely less heavily on Google, the report said. One hitch would be Yahoo’s partnership with Microsoft’s Bing search engine, which provides Yahoo’s search results.

Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer has said it’s a top priority to expand Yahoo’s footprint on mobile devices.

Apple has been seeking ways to rely less heavily on Google, even in search. Unlike Google, which builds devices and Android mobile operating software, Yahoo does not pose a direct competitive threat.

Mayer has said that Yahoo must grow mobile usage to increase revenue. But BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis said a tie-up with Apple would not do that.

The talks with Yahoo are indicative of Apple’s “bad blood” with Google, but would not help Yahoo much, Gillis said.

“It would have a minimal impact on revenue, and it doesn’t solve the problems Yahoo is facing,” Gillis said.

Should Apple move forward with the partnership, “we’ll see if Apple is doing a service or disservice to users,” he added.

A representative for Yahoo declined to comment. Apple could not be reached for comment.

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