Google has reportedly been pressuring Samsung to slow down on its Android customizations and get rid of its disk-hogging homegrown apps on its Android devices, including Samsung's Music Hub.
Last week, it seemed Samsung has given in to Google's demands and has decided to cut back on its bloatware, including its Music Hub, which combines features found on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora and Book Hubs. In a heated Twitter debate between Samsung marketing manager for technical media Philip Berne and Apple iMore's Rene Ritchie, Berne ended up telling Abhijeet Mishra of SamMobile that "Samsung Hub is going away."
The tweet has since been deleted, but the shutdown is still happening. A report by TechRadar says Samsung has been sending out emails to users telling them that Music Hub "will no longer be available" by July 1. It also encourages them to "take the time to download all purchased content and use any remaining vouchers for Samsung Music before July 1, 2014 - after that date they will no longer be available."
This coincides with a statement posted on the Samsung website that it is also shutting down the book section on Samsung Hub, which is being replaced by a joint project with Amazon called Kindle for Samsung.
"In order to provide the best e-reading experience on your Samsung device, Kindle for Samsung will replace Samsung Hub Books starting May 9, 2014. After July 1, 2014, your Samsung Books library will no longer be available," writes Samsung on its website. "Kindle for Samsung is E-Book service specific for Samsung device users. Unlike Amazon Kindle, Kindle for Samsung has offers monthly Samsung Book Deals, which are special benefits for Samsung users only."
But Samsung is not getting rid of its content services. It is merely reorganizing in an apparent attempt to stay on friendly terms with Google.
"We remain committed to delivering rich content experiences and a wide range of choices to our customers through our own services as well as those of our partners. In order to meet rapidly changing consumer needs, our services will remain available as individual apps rather than in one, single bundled storefront," a Samsung spokeswoman said.
Since the Hub was launched in 2012, it has expanded to include apps, games, videos and ebooks. In other words, the Hub has become a direct competitor to Google Play. Earlier this year, Google was reportedly not pleased when Samsung took to the CES to showcase its upcoming Galaxy tablet, which runs on a modified Android interface called Magazine UX.
The two companies have reached a new set of agreements since then, with Samsung allegedly agreeing to ditch its homegrown Magazine UX in future devices for a "pure" Android experience and highlight Google's suite of apps for downloading music, apps and books, although it's not clear what Google has compromised to get Samsung to agree to dump its own software.
