Summary
- Google Assistant will no longer be available on Samsung TVs starting March 1st, 2024, due to a change in Google’s policy.
- Users will need to switch to Bixby or Amazon Alexa as alternatives for voice control on compatible Samsung TVs.
- There have been ongoing issues with Google Assistant on Samsung TVs, including missing support on newer models and broken setup processes.
Google Assistant lost more than a dozen features in January, and it doesn’t look like things are getting any better. Samsung shared that it’s winding down Google Assistant support on its smart TVs, where it was a prominent voice control option on many recent models from 2022 to 2020.
On a Samsung support page describing how Google Assistant works on compatible TVs from the manufacturer, a new note popped up that details a shutdown date for Google Assistant: “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 new wording was spotted and discussed on the Samsung Community forum.
The change affects all compatible devices, including all 2022 and 2021 smart TV models, the 2020 8K and 4K QLED TVs, the 2020 Crystal UHD TVs, and the 2020 Lifestyle TVs such as the Frame, Serif, Terrace, and Sero. To keep using a voice assistant on these TVs, you will likely have no choice but to switch to Bixby or Amazon Alexa, which are also available as alternatives.
Source: Samsung
The move away from Google Assistant isn’t entirely surprising for Samsung. Owners of newer 2023 Samsung TV models have noticed and complained about the lack of Assistant support, which these models seemingly never received in the first place. Even those who have supported models have long experienced issues, with a user describing a convoluted workaround to finish a broken part of the setup process for Assistant in Google’s support forums.
It’s possible that Google Assistant as we know it is going away altogether. Evidence within the Google app suggests that as the company transitions to a generative AI-powered version of Assistant originally meant to be called “Assistant with Bard,” it could instead fully rebrand the new experience to “Gemini.” This is the same name Google uses for its most advanced generative AI model. The standalone Google Bard service appears to be in for the same rebranding, tying the new AI assistant right in with the old Google Assistant.
We’ve reached out to Google to learn what Google policy change Samsung is talking about in its note.
Thanks: Madhav
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