It seems that Samsung’s acceptance of Google Discovery is more limited than some people had hoped. We can confirm that any phone that does not ship with One UI 3.1 will get the feature with the One UI 3.1 update (which starts rolling out for several Galaxy phones today). The functionality is therefore still exclusive to devices such as the Galaxy S21 series and the Galaxy A32 5G.
Meanwhile, Samsung Free remains the only home screen information integration offered by One UI 3.1 outside of the company’s latest Android flagships.
When will my Galaxy device get Google Discover support?
Google Discover will also be available on all future Samsung smartphones starting with one UI 3.1 or later. However, there are no guarantees that older devices will soon be compatible with the Galaxy S21 series in this regard, although things may change within a few months or with the Android 12 update. Currently, more smartphones with One UI 3.1 pre-installed will soon hit the market, including the Galaxy A52, Galaxy A72 and the Galaxy F62.
Google Messages is also not included in the One UI 3.1 update for older Galaxy devices, but this is not what any Samsung customer asked for the Google messaging experience. As with any recent upgrade to a Galaxy device that uses version 3.1 of Samsung’s custom skin out of the box, you can enable Google Discover on the home screen.
Google Discover has a future in Samsung’s broader mobile ecosystem due to the strengthening of the relationship with Alphabet’s subsidiary. The direction in which the SmartThings platform has expanded is another testament to the increasingly collaborative partnership.
Of course, Samsung and Google are still competitors in many ways, and it remains to be seen how far this collaboration can actually go. Especially given Samsung’s eagerness to maintain a strict level of control over its internal, Android-based operating system.