Google is heading back to court with Epic, and this time Samsung is coming along for the ride.
Google is heading back to court with Epic, and this time Samsung is coming along for the ride. After winning its antitrust case against the search giant late last year, Epic has again accused Google of antitrust behavior in how it manages apps on the Android platform. However, the Fortnite maker alleges this time that Samsung is colluding with Google as well.
At issue here is a feature on Samsung’s latest phones called Auto Blocker. This feature is enabled by default on all devices running One UI 6.1 or higher and will (among other things) prevent the user from installing apps that did not come from the Play Store or Galaxy Store. Android phones already have a default to block “unknown apps”, but the system lets you toggle that off rather easily. Auto Blocker is a second, more annoying barrier to app installation.
