By If you have an Android phone, you have undoubtedly noticed that Google’s Gemini AI assistant appears everywhere, just as it has been showing up in YouTube, Docs, Google Search, and other places. Even if you’re not using a phone that bears the Google logo, this is still the case. As it turns out, Google is paying Samsung a lot of money to ensure that Gemini is prominent on its phones, so it’s no coincidence.
Testimony in the ongoing and potentially devastating Google antitrust litigation is the information’s foreseeable source. (The other one, not that one. In the past year, Google has lost two different antitrust actions filed by the US federal government. Google platform and device partnership vice president Peter Fitzgerald told Bloomberg that Google is paying Samsung “a huge sum of money” to install Gemini on its phones and incorporate it into the One UI Android skin.
According to the executive’s testimony, Google compensates Samsung for each device that has Gemini preinstalled and heavily integrates it into the system. Additionally, Samsung receives a portion of the advertising money made from Gemini searches and other activities. The exact terms of the contract—including how much a “enormous sum” amounts to—are unknown, although it was in effect for at least two years.
For Samsung, it makes sense. The business has been marketing its newest Galaxy handsets as being packed with AI capabilities, despite the technology press’s skepticism. Above all, it’s not often that a large corporation declines offer after offer. Google has a history of paying Apple billions of dollars annually to maintain its search function on the iPhone and other devices, so this is not the first time the company has taken this action. The business has already encountered regulatory issues with less obvious transactions, such as requiring phone manufacturers to install Google services like Docs, Maps, and YouTube on their devices to maintain access to the de facto standard Google Play Store app platform.
Gemini isn’t exactly a hit among users. Many people are searching for alternatives as it replaces long-standing Google integrations like Google Assistant for smart device management and floods Google Search with answers of dubious usefulness. For no apparent reason, did I mention that I adore the Vivaldi browser?
What happens as a result of the antitrust rulings is still up in the air. In addition to forcing Google to sell up its Chrome browser, the US Department of Justice is now attempting to force Google to sell off its advertising division. The tech firm would suffer a devastating blow from either or all of them, perhaps disqualifying it from its top category. However, there is no guarantee that these outcomes will materialize, and Google will use all available means to prevent them.
