Apple's anticipated launch of greater Chinese-user support on the new version of its computer operating system may well lead to a similar enhancement for the iPhone.
The technology giant is said to be planning to add Baidu's online search engine on the iPhone, according to Bloomberg yesterday, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.
Baidu spokesman Kaiser Kuo would not comment on the report, but said speculation about such a development followed an earlier announcement by Apple regarding OS X Mountain Lion, the ninth major release of its Mac operating system.
Apple said in February that there would be new features specifically designed to support Chinese users on Mountain Lion, including significant improvements to the Chinese input method and the option to select Baidu search in the Safari Web browser.
Baidu is the largest online search services provider on the mainland. It had a 78.5 per cent market share in the first quarter, compared with Google's 16.6 per cent share, according to research firm Analysys International. Google, which runs the world's leading internet search provider, is the default search engine on the Safari Web browser in iPhone and iPad.
The announcement about a 'Baidu-on-iPhone' deal is expected to be made as early as next week, when Apple stages its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event in San Francisco from June 11-15.
Carolyn Wu, Apple spokeswoman in Beijing, declined to comment.