The company had been reviewing the possibility of using Bing instead of Google Search in its pre-installed “Internet” app. However, the internal review has been suspended, and no immediate changes are expected.
If Samsung had made the switch, it would have given Bing a major boost in a search-engine market that Google dominates. Bing has recently gained ground by adopting ChatGPT features from Microsoft-backed OpenAI.
Samsung’s ‘Galaxy’ not happy with its dependence on Google
Samsung’s smartphone division has expressed worry over its dependence on Google’s software. As part of their efforts to diversify their smartphone software and explore new options, the company has considered switching to Bing.
According to the sources, Samsung considered switching the search engine but ultimately decided against it. They believed that most of their smartphone users already used other browsers like Google Chrome, which comes preinstalled on Samsung phones. However, they have decided not to pursue the matter further due to concerns about how the market might perceive the switch and the impact it could have on their business relations with Google.
Currently, Google’s search engine dominates the market with roughly 93% of searches on computers and mobile devices, while Bing accounts for approximately 3%, according to Statcounter.
Google has made some of the costliest agreements with Samsung and Apple to guarantee that their apps and services are the default choices on devices manufactured by the two biggest smartphone companies in the world.
According to estimates that surfaced during a 2020 lawsuit filed by the US Justice Department against Google for violating antitrust laws, Google pays Apple an annual sum of between $8 billion and $12 billion.
It is believed that Google also has a similar search deal with Samsung, although the amount is believed to be much lower.
While Samsung is not permanently ruling out Bing as an option in the future, they will not be discussing it internally at this time.
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