Samsung will make Google Play Music the default music player for all future Samsung smartphones and tablets worldwide, starting with the just-launched Galaxy S8 and S8+. In exchange, Google has promised that its music service will work in harmony with Samsung’s very own Bixby personal assistant.
Samsung is leaving no stones unturned to make sure Bixby is a success; the personal assistant even comes with a dedicated hardware button on the Galaxy S8 and S8+. Unfortunately, Bixby’s launch hasn’t been as smooth as one would have hoped for.
Google Play Music’s integration with Bixby means that users would be able to ask Bixby to play a certain song or playlist off their Google Play Music library, just like it works with Google Assistant.
Additionally, Samsung users will be able to upload up to 100,000 songs for free to their Google Play Music library. Normally, the service only allows upload of up to 50,000 songs for users on the free tier.
Lastly, Google is bundling a free three month trial of the service with all new Samsung devices. YouTube Red, for markets where it is available, will also be included in this subscription, delivering not only an ad-free music service, but also an ad-free YouTube experience.
Samsung has tried its hand before at building a music streaming service. The South Korean giant launched Milk Music back in 2014 for Galaxy owners in the US, but the service failed to compete and ended up being shut down in 2016. Milk Video, Samsung’s attempt at building a video streaming service, shared a similar fate.
Google’s decision to integrate with Bixby rather than fight it is interesting, but it benefits both companies in the end.
Source: Google Blog