SEOUL: South Korean technology giant Samsung has announced plans to discontinue its popular Samsung News service, available on Galaxy smartphones and tablets, effective December 21, 2026.
The company has notified users in India and South Korea about the decision through in-app notifications sent on October 26. According to the announcement, the service will be discontinued at midnight on December 21, Pakistan Standard Time (PST). Following the shutdown, the Samsung News widget will no longer receive updates or display new content.
Samsung has advised users to remove the Samsung News widget from their device’s home screens before the service is discontinued to avoid any inconvenience.
Launched in April 2023, Samsung News replaced the company’s previous service, Samsung Free. The platform provided Galaxy users with access to breaking news, sports updates, business and financial coverage, as well as personalised content from various publishers.
Following the shutdown, user profiles and personalised content preferences stored on the platform will be permanently deleted. However, certain information may be retained temporarily where required by applicable laws and regulatory obligations.
Samsung has not yet disclosed the reason behind its decision to discontinue the service. There is speculation that Google Discover could become more prominent as a news feed option on Galaxy devices in the future, although Samsung has not officially confirmed any such move.
For now, the shutdown notification has been reported in India and South Korea, while a final announcement regarding other markets is still awaited.
Users looking for alternative sources of personalised news can turn to Google News and Google Discover.
