(Image credit: Samsung )
If you own one of the best Samsung TVs and you regularly use Google Meet to keep in touch with loved ones or colleagues, then you’ll need to find an alternative solution over the next couple of weeks.
SamMobile reports that Google Meet, the tech giant’s video conferencing app, will be discontinued on Samsung Smart TVs in March 2024, which could impact millions of users. This move follows the earlier removal of the Google Play Movies app from Samsung TVs a few years ago. As well as the upcoming departure of Google Assistant from Samsung TVs on March 1, 2024.
Using Google Meet on Samsung TVs has always been a straightforward process, requiring you to simply connect a webcam to the TV. You’d then be able to make and receive video calls directly from your television, similar to how you might use a tablet, phone, or computer for the same thing. The convenience of having video conferencing on a large screen made Google Meet a really popular option for both personal and professional purposes.
Google Meet, originally known as Google Duo, made its debut on Samsung Smart TVs in October 2022 and was also included in the 2023 TV models, along with Samsung’s Tizen smart monitors (the 7000 series and higher). However, Samsung’s smart monitors and TVs that have so far launched in 2024 haven’t featured the Google video calling app, signalling an impending change.
This removal comes only a year and a half after the app’s introduction to Samsung’s displays. According to reports from users, the service is set to either stop working or disappear on March 9, 2024. Samsung has also taken down its support page for Google Meet, further confirming the app’s discontinuation.
Is Google snubbing Tizen to focus on Android/Google TV?
The big question is, was this a move by Samsung or one made by Google?
This development may not necessarily signal Samsung’s decision to rid its Tizen platform of Google services, but it could instead reflect Google’s intentions to prioritize its own ecosystems.
The discontinuation of Google Meet, along with Google Assistant’s upcoming departure on March 1, 2024, has raised questions about what Google’s strategy on Samsung’s Tizen platform might be going forward.
It’s hard to know for sure as there’s been no official announcement confirming this latest move, but these choices suggest a shift by Google to consolidate its efforts and focus more on its own platforms, which are Android and Google TV, rather than supporting its services on third-party platforms, like Samsung’s Tizen.
It would make sense that Google may want to optimize its resources and focus on platforms where it can exercise more control and integration. But the upshot for Samsung TV users who do currently rely on Google Meet is they won’t have long to explore alternative video conferencing solutions.
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Becca is a contributor to TechRadar, a freelance journalist and author. She’s been writing about consumer tech and popular science for more than ten years, covering all kinds of topics, including why robots have eyes and whether we’ll experience the overview effect one day. She’s particularly interested in VR/AR, wearables, digital health, space tech and chatting to experts and academics about the future. She’s contributed to TechRadar, T3, Wired, New Scientist, The Guardian, Inverse and many more. Her first book, Screen Time, came out in January 2021 with Bonnier Books. She loves science-fiction, brutalist architecture, and spending too much time floating through space in virtual reality.
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