Samsung Partners with Google Play, Makes Google Play Music Default Player on its Devices

To coincide with the release of the Galaxy S8 and S8+, Samsung has announced that it’s partnering with Google Play Music to make the app the preferred (and default) music player for Samsung mobile devices and tablets.

That move has effectively been in the making for over a year, since Google Play Music was also the default app on the Galaxy 7. But, as The Verge and other outlets point out, the difference now is that Galaxy owners can upload up to 100,000 tracks to the app’s cloud locker and access them from anywhere. (For non Samsung-users, the number is capped at a still-ample 50,000 tracks.)

And to better compete with services such as Apple Music, the companies have announced that they’re offering a free three-month trial of Google Play Music for Samsung phone and tablet users. Apple Music has reportedly been surging in subscriptions as of late, and Spotify continues to lead the field even as it moves to “window” albums for paid users.

Samsung itself had a brief dalliance in the streaming game with “Milk Music” that lasted about two years before coming to an end in 2016.

Find Google and Samsung’s full announcement here.