‘It’s a major step back’ Samsung TV owners yell as key Google feature is removed next month
SAMSUNG TV owners are calling the removal of a Google feature next month a “major step back”,
Google Assistant will no longer be available on its TVs, including existing models, from March 1, 2024.
A note from Samsung on a support page said: “Important: Due to a change in Google’s policy, Google Assistant will no longer be available on Samsung TVs beginning March 1st, 2024.
“Check out other options for voice assistants on Samsung TVs.”
The functionality will be removed from all TVs.
The message was spotted by Samsung Community.
It is not clear what the change in Google’s policy is.
Samsung first integrated Google Assistant into its TVs in 2020.
The voice assistant is quite a common feature on almost all Android TV and Google TV products and has also been included in some other platforms, including Samsung’s Tizen.
It is often available alongside other voice assistants like Amazon Alexa.
Google Assistant disappeared from Samsung’s 2023 lineup and now it is set to be removed from all existing Samsung TVs as well.
LG appears to still carry Google Assistant since it was first introduced on their TVs in 2018.
A LG support page still makes reference to the assistant and LG and Google announced a stronger partnership last month with LG TVs getting Chromecast support.
The Samsung TVs affected:
- All 2022 Smart TV models
- All 2021 Smart TV models
- 2020 8K and 4K QLED TVs
- 2020 Crystal UHD TVs
- 2020 Lifestyle TVs (Frame, Serif, Terrace, and Sero)
Owners of Samsung TVs affected by the move can still use other voice assistants Bixby or Amazon Alexa on their device.
Some Samsung TV users weren’t happy about the move, with one post on X, formerly Twitter, calling it “an unfortunate and major step back for Samsung”.
On a Google support forum page, a user wrote: “I’m hoping there will be enough negative feedback that we might see an update adding Assistant to the choices along with Alexa and Bixby.
“You would think Google would want their Assistant integrated on as many platforms as possible.”
Another added: “I brought two Samsung TVs back in the day for this particular reason as not all TVs had Google assistant. It’s very disappointing that this decision has been made… I am seriously considering changing all my home devices to work with Alexa and parting ways with Google altogether.”
Although others were happy to see the back of it, with one social media user writing: “I won’t miss it. Google assistant is pretty bad on Samsung tvs.”
There is some speculation that the US tech company could be phasing out its current assistant in favour of an upgrade called Gemini.
Google Assistant with Bard will also be powered by Gemini Nano in the future, and it will also be launched on non-Google smartphones, too, such as rival Samsung.
The Sun Online has contacted Samsung and Google for comment.
