I love DuckDuckGo but Apple needs to invest a lot into it if they want it to be anywhere on par with Google. I use DDG primarily as much search engine on all my devices but the lack of customization in the search input and the fact that the results are objectively worse than Google's for the same terms means I find myself using Google often enough to where I think this is a bad idea for most users. I say this as someone who really hates Google's data and privacy stances and who has to reluctantly admit that their tool is simply better for the job.
That's the first mod I make to a new OS. But people take defaults. DuckDuckGo is indistinguishable from Bing the times I have compared, but I obviously prefer the privacy policy.
I'm using DDG as the primary browser on iOS.<p>Using Google as the primary search engine with Private Relay and content blockers turned on is a terrible experience. I had to identify so many traffic lights and buses.