Samsung Smart TVs Lose Even More Google Features - See if yours is on the list

Samsung Smart TVs Lose Even More Google Features - See if yours is on the list

It appears that Google Meet will cease to exist on some Samsung TVs as the display maker continues to shut down various services offered by the search giant.

The loss of Meet comes just weeks after Google Assistant was discontinued on Samsung TVs.

Spotted by one of SamMobile's readers and notified of the change on their display, the culling of Google Meet on Samsung TVs is expected to arrive on March 9, 2024, while Google Assistant will disappear together on March 1, eight days before that. Many believe that this may be related to Google shifting its focus to its own Android TV/Google TV platform.

Google Meet was first added to Samsung TVs in the display company's 2021 and 2022 lineup in October 2022, in addition to Tizen-based smart monitors. The video chat application was later added to Samsung's 2023 TV lineup, but things appear to be about to change.

According to SamMobile, readers of the site claim to have been informed of the impending feature change by an in-app notification explaining that it would be erased from Samsung TVs on March 9. SamMobile did not provide an image of this alert, but Samsung has a Google Meet support page, lending credence to the possibility of this being eliminated.

Despite this, neither Google nor Samsung have said anything about the nature of these changes, other than an announcement in early February regarding the loss of Google Assistant. We will update this page with any official announcements from both companies.

Google Meet will still be available on Samsung TVs until March 9. The app requires the use of a webcam, specifically Samsung's Slim Fit camera, and an Internet connection, allowing it to function similarly to Zoom on non-traditional displays (and some smart monitors).

As already noted, Google Meet is not the only app offered by the search giant to be removed from Samsung TVs. Only a few weeks earlier, Google Assistant was also removed from the company's TVs. Samsung claims that this was due to a change in Google's policy, but doesn't actually say much.

Additionally, Google's Play Movies app was also removed from Samsung TVs in 2021, but this may have nothing to do with the loss of both Meet and Assistant. Thus, the reasons behind these recent changes remain unclear.

SamMobile speculates that Google Meet is gone because Google is improving its Google TV and Android TV platforms. However, that does not explain why Google Assistant did not appear in Samsung's 2023 lineup.

The disappearance of these Google Apps on Samsung TVs may also be related to improvements in Google's Large Language Model (LLM), Gemini (formerly called Bard), which is scheduled to integrate with Google Assistant in March The integration is expected to be completed by the end of March. This integration is believed to herald much more advanced AI support and allow users easier access to content and answers to queries.

Both Samsung and Google have an ongoing commitment to Project Caviar, an offshoot of Dolby Vision and Atmos designed as open source, and the Apple Vision Pro competition, which will utilize VR sensors inspired by bats. Given the seemingly good relationship between the two companies.

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