Called to testify in an antitrust case against Google on Tuesday, a senior Apple official insisted that the popular search engine is the best product for smartphone users, AFP reported.

On September 12, a historic trial began against the Internet giant, which the US government accused of abusing its dominant position.

According to the Department of Justice, Google built its empire through illegal exclusivity deals with companies like Samsung, Apple and Mozilla so that its tool would be installed by default on their devices and services, thus preventing any alternative.

“I don’t think anyone is as good as Google when it comes to online search,” Eddie Cue, Apple’s vice president, told the court.

“At the time, there was no viable alternative to Google. And we never thought about choosing another,” he added.

Cue recalled a series of deals that began in 2002, when Google paid Apple billions of dollars for a prominent spot on its electronic devices.

The deal was renewed in 2016 to allow the iPhone maker to receive a larger share of Google’s advertising revenue from its search engine through Safari, Apple’s web browser.

Cue’s testimony was only briefly made public and then continued behind closed doors because companies were wary of sharing sensitive data.

Google has ten weeks of hearings to convince federal judge Amit Mehta that the government’s allegations are unfounded.

It is the first time US prosecutors have dealt with a major technology company since Microsoft was targeted more than two decades ago for the dominance of its Windows operating system.

The lawsuit will determine whether Google owes the success of its search engine to its productivity or anti-competitive practices.

Hearings have already revealed that Google pays Apple and other companies $10 billion a year to secure its status as the default search engine on phones and web browsers.