There are a lot of interesting tidbits floating around the internet thanks to the ongoing Google vs. Epic trial, and today, we have more information that is not surprising but goes to show how the search engine giant means business. Based on the testimony presented by Epic Games, Samsung was paid $8 billion over the period of four years just so Search, Assistant, and Play Store could be the default services on all their devices.
Google really wants to dominate the Android market, and it shows when looking at its deal with Samsung
James Kolotourous, Vice President for Partnerships at Google, talked about how the company made deals with several Android OEMs to ensure their devices were pre-loaded by the Play Store. The testimony even revealed that Samsung devices account for half or more of the entire Play Store devices, which does make sense since Samsung is the biggest Android OEM in the market.
Google even started an initiative back in 2019 called “Project Banyan.” Under this project, the company invested money so the Play Store could remain on all Samsung devices, sharing a place with the Galaxy Store. The search engine mogul offered up $200 million a year over four years to Samsung to make the Galaxy Store available within Play Store, with its own billing system.
Another internal document reveals how Google saved $1 billion over four years. This was done by backtracking on a request that would have allowed the Play Store to be the only digital storefront shown on the home screens of Samsung devices. Kototourous reveals that this deal never went through.
This discovery’s whole point is that Epic is trying to show how Google has discouraged third-party app stores on Android by paying these manufacturers hefty fees just so the Play Store can be the default store everyone uses. I mean, to an extent, it has worked. Despite being a lifelong Samsung user, I don’t remember visiting the Galaxy Store all that much.
News Source: Bloomberg