

Imagine if the best Android phones didn't have Google as their search engine. As wild as it sounds, that's what Samsung was reportedly considering. But don't worry: according to a new and well-informed report, Samsung has canned its plans for the time being. The Samsung Galaxy S24, like the Samsung Galaxy S23 and its predecessors, will still be a Google machine.
The new report comes from the Wall Street Journal (paywall), which says that Samsung has now abandoned its plans to make Bing the default search engine in its own web browser. That's good news for Google, which reportedly brings in $3 billion a year from search on Samsung. But why was Samsung considering moving away – and can it even do that when it's running Google's own mobile OS?
Why Samsung was considering swapping Google for Bing
Samsung's review was only looking at its own web browser, because Google is baked into Android like currants into a bun. It's been suggested that Bing's embrace of AI may have been one of the considerations – Bing is moving to a much more conversational kind of search – but it's quite possible that the sheer awfulness of modern Google search was probably a factor too.
The WSJ says that Samsung decided not to switch in part because it would have been too disruptive, and partly because many Samsung users don't use the in-house browser anyway. But that doesn't mean it won't switch at some point in the future: according to the report, Samsung "isn't permanently closing the door" on the idea of changing its default search engine in the future.
It's hard to overemphasise how important these deals are to search engine firms. Being the default on a phone or desktop web browser guarantees massive amounts of traffic, and that traffic is extremely lucrative: three years ago the WSJ reported that Google pays Apple alone between $8 billion and $12 billion a year to be the default search in Safari on the iPhone, iPad and Mac. And that number is believed to be higher today. So it's no wonder that Google was reportedly "shocked" by the rumour that Samsung was considering going elsewhere, and I wouldn't be surprised if the search giant did some serious persuading of Samsung executives not to switch.
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).
-
I love Nintendo for bringing back kooky gaming cameras for the Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 Camera is mad
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
I tried Sony's new Sonos Arc rival – the Bravia Theatre Bar 6 goes big on bass
Sony's Bravia Theatre Bar 6 replaces the G700 soundbar system – and I got to test it out at a private listening session
By Mike Lowe Published
-
The Galaxy Tab S10 FE might be Samsung's best-value tablet yet
A great new semi-premium entrypoint
By Max Freeman-Mills Published
-
Samsung's bezel breakthrough could slash the cost of big-screen 8K OLED TVs
Massive TV panels are really hard to make – so why not just tile multiple smaller ones instead?
By Carrie Marshall Published
-
Apple TV gets a free update that makes it more simple to use
Apple has released tvOS 18.4 with a few design tweaks for its TV boxes
By Rik Henderson Published
-
Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold renders show an early contender for foldable of the year
Even though it might not be the slimmest, it could be the sexiest
By Britta O'Boyle Published
-
Your iPhone gets some new tricks - here’s what it can do now
The new emojis and priority notifications are probably our favourite
By Britta O'Boyle Published
-
Older iPhones at risk of being left behind when iOS 19 arrives – is your device one of them?
Apple will reportedly drop three iPhone models when it comes to the iOS 19 update
By Carrie Marshall Published
-
Samsung wants to turn the Z Flip phone into a Nintendo DS
A patent discovery shows an interesting accessory for the Z Flip foldable
By Rik Henderson Published
-
Your next MacBook Pro could be a game-changer for three good reasons
Apple will reportedly upgrade next year's MacBook Pro in three major ways
By Rik Henderson Published