Samsung can’t ditch Google in favor of Bing search on its smartphones after all

On Sunday night, the New York Times posted an article on Google’s AI search plans. It included a mention that Samsung was reportedly thinking about using Microsoft’s Bing search engine as the default instead of Google Search for future Galaxy smartphones and other Android devices. This story may have had an effect on Google’s stock price Monday, as it went down 2.5 percent.

However, Andreas Proschofsky, a reporter for Austria’s derStandard website and newspaper, posted on Twitter Monday to say it might not be possible for Samsung to ditch Google Search for Microsoft Bing, at least in some markets like the US.

Android OEMs have to sign a thing called "Mobile Application Distribution Agreement" (MADA) if they want to get a license to use the Play Store and other Google apps. This includes a bunch of rules which includes – in most countries – setting Google Search as default.

— Andreas Proschofsky (@suka_hiroaki) April 17, 2023

He points out that any company that wants to make an Android-based phone with Google’s services must comply with its Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (MADA). It states that phone companies that want the Google Play Store installed on their devices must also set up Google Search as the default search engine.

Some markets like Europe and India are a bit different. Proschofsky says those Android phones have a search engine choice screen that’s required by some regulatory bodies. However, it still means that companies can’t really get rid of Google Search entirely.

So, either Samsung is going to completely ditch Google’s services on its future Android phones to get Bing as the search default, which seems extremely unlikely, or the New York Times story was in error. Proschofsky says there are other avenues where “Samsung could put pressure on Google”, but it seems the threat of switching search engines is not one of them.