Samsung reportedly suspends review to replace Google search in smartphones
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Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) has reportedly suspended its internal review that could have seen it replace Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) as the default search option on its smartphones with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Bing.
Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) has decided it will not further discuss the matter at this time, but that it is not closing the door altogether on Microsoft (MSFT) in the future, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The South Korean tech giant made the decision due to concerns over perception of the switch and the impact on its broader business agreement with Google (GOOG) (GOOGL), the news outlet added.
Google's Chrome browser is the preinstalled search engine on Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) smartphones, the majority of which also use Google's Android operating system.
In addition Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) is a significant customer for Samsung's (OTCPK:SSNLF) memory chips and is a customer of its foundry business, which makes chips for other customers. 
It was reported last month that Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) was weighing switching to Microsoft (MSFT) Bing amid the improvements Bing has made following its adoption of OpenAI's ChatGPT.
The value of the deal was reported to be worth $3B annually.
Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) shares rose around 1% in pre-market trading.
Not only is Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) is the default search engine on Samsung phones, but it is on Apple's (AAPL) devices and its own devices, making the contracts an area of intense interest for Google and rivals, notably Microsoft.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Microsoft (MSFT), in hopes of gaining share in the lucrative search market, is interested in replacing Google as the default search option in Mozilla's Firefox browser when the contract expires.
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