Report: Samsung Has Dropped its Plan to Replace Google with Bing on Galaxy Phones

Samsung has reportedly dropped its plan to make Bing replace Google as the default search engine on its Galaxy devices. According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung suspended an internal review to examine the impact of switching search engines and reduce its dependence on Google.

If Samsung remains the biggest smartphone maker worldwide, the company would very much like to reduce its dependence on Google services. Samsung’s Galaxy phones come with an in-house web browser that uses Google as its default search engine, and Samsung had been evaluating if Microsoft’s Bing with its new AI-powered powers could provide a good enough alternative.

However, the Korean company reportedly determined that the change may not have made such as difference as most Galaxy users actually don’t use Samsung’s web browser. “The South Korean tech giant initially deliberated a search-engine switch, thinking that it wouldn’t substantially change the status quo since the majority of Samsung smartphone users don’t use its in-house Internet app, according to people with knowledge of the discussions,” the report reads.

Moreover, the report also says that Samsung ultimately considered that the switch could have been too risky. “Samsung has decided it won’t further internally discuss the matter at this time given concerns over how the switch could be perceived by the market as well as the impact on its wide-ranging business relations with Google, the people said.”

As of today, Google is both a partner and a competitor to Samsung in the smartphone space. Google uses Samsung’s memory chips on its own devices, while Samsung obviously depends on Google’s Android platform, just like the majority of smartphone manufacturers. Google also pays an undisclosed amount of money to make its search engine the default on Galaxy phones, and it may not be in Samsung’s best interest to alter this relationship.

If the status quo in the Samsung world will apparently remain, Microsoft has already found other ways to grow the market share of its Bing search engine. The new Bing chatbot is now integrated into the company’s Edge browser, and it’s also coming to the Windows 11 search box. On mobile, Microsoft’s Swiftkey keyboard is another app where you can now access the chatbot.