14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung is projected to take the wraps off the Galaxy Note20 and a series of other devices next week, but the South Korean company is also preparing some pretty huge news on the software side of its phones.
A report from Bloomberg reveals that Google and Samsung are currently in talks over a possible partnership that would eventually make the search giant’s apps the recommended choices on devices like the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note.
More specifically, it looks like Google hopes Samsung would push harder for Google Assistant and the Google Play Store on its devices, instead making Bixby and the Samsung Galaxy Apps Store second-class citizens of its very own phone lineup.
Goodbye, Bixby?
Right now, Samsung is insisting hard for Bixby, but it’s not a secret that the company’s digital assistant isn’t necessarily the huge success that the South Koreans hoped it would be. Installing and using Google Assistant on a Samsung phone is still possible right now, so the deal most likely could come down to Samsung offering as the default choice on its devices.
At the same time, Google also wants the Google Play store to be the go-to destination for apps on Samsung phones, all instead of the Galaxy Apps Store. The phone maker has invested a lot of resources into growing the Galaxy Apps Store, and there are several exclusive apps and games that Samsung owners can download right now.
Needless to say, neither Google nor Samsung commented on this report, and the search giant even reiterated that “Samsung is free to create its own app store and digital assistant.” Thank you, Captain Obvious, but this doesn’t help much, so right now, it’s all just a report that we should take with a pinch of salt until the whole thing becomes official, possibly as soon as the next week.