Samsung has chosen to discontinue four services as of June 1. These include the S Voice, Find My Car, Car Mode and Mirror Link as reported by TizenHelp. Samsung has previously announced the closing of these services back in April. However, this looks to be the first time Samsung has decided to discontinue as many services on one day.
S Voice has had a rich history in Samsung products, dating back to its inception in 2012. However, it has been phased out by new services in recent years.
The other three services, appear to have failed to attract customers and Samsung have taken the decision to discontinue as a result.
S Voice Phased out in Favor if Bixby
The S Voice was once the centre-piece for Samsung products but the decision has been taken to discontinue its services. It was a mainstay of all smartphones and smartwatches from 2012 until 2017. The Galaxy S3, S4, S5, Gear S2, Gear S3, Gear Sport, Galaxy Note 2, 3, 4, and 5 all had the S Voice inbuilt.
However, after 2017 more advanced devices had Bixby introduced. As a result, Samsung is rolling out Bixby on all of the above devices as a replacement for the S Voice. The discontinuation of the S Voice marks an important moment in the evolution of the company going forward.
Other Services Fail to Inspire
It is striking that Samsung has chosen to close four services in one day. The S Voice is the most notable but the other three are also worth mentioning.
Find My Car, Car Mode and Mirror Link all appear to have failed in grabbing the attention of customers and as a result, Samsung has decided to close them down.
Mirror Link was an app allowing users to link their smartphones to their cars. Users could mirror their phone’s screen onto the head unit of the vehicle.
Car Mode restricted users to only essential car-friendly function whilst driving. These included navigation and safety. Find My Car is basically as it says but only allowed users to locate their vehicle using GPS on wearable devices such as watches.
None of these services appear to have been a great success and as a result, can no longer be downloaded from the Play Store or the Galaxy Store.
Car Mode, for example, was designed in response to Android Auto and Apple Carplay, however, it seems that it was unable to match its rivals.
Although this news comes previously announced it is still a shockingly large amount of services to shut down on a single day. This is especially notable considering it includes the S Voice. Given that it was was such a central part of all Samsung products during the last decade.