promoting on Preferred Devices any Alternative Search Services, with limited exceptions. Id. at 752, 753–54.
390. The 2017 Google-Samsung RSA used to define “Alternative Search Service” as “any web search service that is substantially similar to Google Search.” JX41 at 967. That definition was changed in 2020, however, to include “any web or on-device search service (including on-device search that incorporates multiple vertical search functionalities) that offers functionality that is similar to Google Search.” JX71 at 394. This change resulted from Samsung’s preinstallation of an on-device search technology from Branch, discussed infra Section VI.B.2.d. The 2020 Google-Samsung RSA limits Samsung’s ability to install or promote Alternative Search Services on Enhanced Qualified Devices, with limited exceptions. JX71 at 403, 405.
- d. Branch
391. In 2019, Samsung sought to integrate Branch’s deep-linking technology onto its devices. Tr. at 2907:11-20, 2908:1-4 (Austin). That technology primarily enables on-device search of mobile applications, but it also has the capacity to serve limited web search results if a user does not have a relevant mobile application on their device. This web search functionality was known as “Discovery.” Id. at 2894:9–2895:6, 2900:4-12, 2909:16–2910:14 (Austin).
392. Branch also developed a “Deepview” functionality where, based on partnerships with SVPs, it would allow users who did not have a particular app downloaded to access the SVP’s website information directly from the Discovery interface, without reverting to the web. Id. at 2916:1-18, 2917:3-13 (Austin).
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