Also — and this is a complete guess — it feels like a good opportunity for Apple to repurpose its siri.com domain, doesn’t it?

Apple Once Again Rumoured to Be Working on a Web Search Engine — Pixel Envy

Certainly does.

However, and to link to the original post by Jon Henshaw, I think what Apple may – or may not – be building is a different kind of search engine. You are seeing points of that in spotlight, Siri suggestions, and the advanced search coming to iPad OS (which I hope makes its way to iOS proper).

By not having a simple search starting point, they wouldn’t face scrutiny for favoring their own products & services. I see a Safari start page that functions a lot like the Siri face on Apple Watch. It’s useful, could be so much more, and gets a tad bit closer with each revision.

Parlay that beyond the wrist, with advanced Siri capabilities everywhere, and now you’re talking.