Samsung has stopped evaluating the possibility of changing the default search engine on its devices from Google to Bing. This will be reported The Wall Street Journal citing their own sources.
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Samsung’s decision to ditch Google as the default search engine in the company’s mobile browser on its devices would be a victory for Bing, which has consistently been outperformed by its more powerful competitor in this area. Bing attracted interest earlier this year when it launched the AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT, following Microsoft’s billion-dollar investment in OpenAI.
The New York Times reported in April on Samsung’s intention to change the default search engine in its own mobile browser. The Korean tech giant argued that the move is unlikely to change the balance of power in the web search market, as most Samsung smartphone owners prefer the Google Chrome app, which also comes pre-installed, to their browser. The company was forced to suspend its review of this transaction as such a transition could be perceived by the market and could impact its relationship with Google. However, the company does not want to do without the prospects of Bing entirely.
Samsung shipped about 260 million smartphones last year, about a fifth of global sales, according to Counterpoint Research. Google has been the default search engine on Samsung smartphones since the launch of the first flagship Galaxy S in 2010. However, the manufacturer sees its heavy reliance on Google software as a problem, and choosing Bing as the default search provider would be part of a program to diversify and explore alternative offerings.
Image source: samsung.com
According to Statcounter, Google accounts for 93% of global desktop and mobile searches, while Bing is happy with a 3% share. Google has lucrative deals with Samsung and Apple that ensure its search service comes standard on the smartphones of the world’s two largest manufacturers – Apple alone pays between $8 billion and $12 billion a year, while Samsung is estimated to get a significant amount fewer.
In some areas Samsung and Google are direct competitors, in others they are regular customers of each other. Almost all Samsung phones run Android, and Google is optimizing its apps to work on Samsung foldable phones. Samsung also sells memory chips to Google and is a contract manufacturer of Google processors. At the same time, Google and Samsung compete as manufacturers of mobile devices and smart home components.
Microsoft also has a partnership with Samsung. The companies are working together to securely sync Galaxy smartphones with Windows PCs. Microsoft, also a large cloud provider, buys memory chips from the Korean company.
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