On more than one occasion we have mentioned that Samsung is by far Google’s best partner when it comes to Android phones. Google is interested in Samsung being the main partner because we are talking about the manufacturer that sells the most phones in North America, and also the number 1 manufacturer of phones internationally.
Samsung has not tired of saying that their phones come with the best of Google and that they work practically side by side to make their teams have one of the best user experiences by offering exclusive features from Google and other companies like Microsoft, Netflix and Spotify on their devices.
And the next turn in this great partnership between Google and Samsung could take place very soon, and it would be a very interesting one, as according to Bloomberg, Google is in talks with Samsung so that the firm gives more prominence to Google Assistant and the Play Store in the phones of the South Korean manufacturer.
Bixby instead of Assistant
According to the source, Google wants more prominence of its services on Samsung phones, this does not mean that they want Samsung to eliminate Bixby from their phones, but it does mean that in the customization and use options, it is always preferred by the Google assistant above that of Samsung.
With the S20, the South Korean firm eliminated the button dedicated to Bixby on their phones, although it is possible to configure this button to run the assistant, so it seems that the intention of Google may be to search in future releases for this button to launch in Automatic Assistant, or at least appear as the first option in the configuration list.
The “advantage” for Google is that Bixby seems to have lost some prominence within Samsung, because compared to other years in which we even had a section on one of the screens of the phone called Bixby Home, it has now been replaced by Samsung Daily, and Bixby gradually seems to have less weight on Samsung phones.
This does not mean that Samsung does not want to continue betting on Bixby, but given the impression that it has lost strength, added to its great collaboration with Google, the Mountain View company is likely to convince Samsung of its mission.
On the other hand, Google also wants Samsung to give the Play Store more prominence than its Galaxy Store, which has given several blows of authority to the Google store since we remember that this was the first Android store in the world where Fortnite was released, and here you can find very popular apps optimized for Samsung phones.
What does Samsung say about it?
Bloomberg managed to obtain a statement from Samsung on this information, where a company spokesperson clarified the following:
“At Samsung we are committed to our own ecosystem and services. At the same time, we work with Google and other partners to deliver the best mobile experiences for our users.
Like all manufacturers of Android devices, we are free to create our own app store and digital assistant, and that is one of the great features of the Android platform. And while we regularly talk to partners about ways to improve the user experience, we have no plans to change that. ”
The company makes it clear that there are no plans to leave Bixby or the Galaxy Store (as we mentioned), but that does not mean that it will reach an agreement with Google to prioritize Google services on their phones.
For his part, a Google spokesman mentioned the following in this regard:
” To the Like all Android device makers, Samsung is free to create their own application store and its digital assistant. While we have regular discussions with our partners about how we can improve the user experience, we have no plans for this to change. «