Samsung News App Discontinued 2026: Shutdown Date, Countries and Alternatives

Samsung News shutdown date: December 21, 2026

The discontinuation notice reported inside the Samsung News app gives the end date as December 21, 2026, at 00:00 UTC. SamMobile says the notice was displayed in India and South Korea. Android Authority also reports the same date and says the widget will no longer receive content updates.

The date is a UTC deadline, so it does not fall on the same local calendar day in every time zone:

Local times above use the standard time-zone offsets in effect on December 20–21, 2026. The service notice itself specifies UTC.

Is Samsung News shutting down worldwide?

A worldwide shutdown has not been fully confirmed in a single public Samsung announcement that we could verify. The strongest evidence is the in-app notice reported in India and South Korea, plus a Samsung Community moderator’s statement that they had also received the notice in a UK discussion. Other country pages and support documents need to be treated carefully because some are older general product guides, not shutdown announcements.

This table separates a reported in-app notice from a country-specific public announcement. The absence of a notice in the sources reviewed does not prove that a market is exempt or that service will continue there indefinitely.

Samsung News shutdown in the US, UK, Canada and Australia

United States: is Samsung News being discontinued?

US interest is real: the Google Trends US Trending Now page showed the query Samsung News app discontinued 2026 in its 10K+ search band with a 1,000% rise during the October 31, 2026 snapshot. That is a short-term trend signal, not a monthly keyword-volume estimate and not proof that Samsung has published a US shutdown notice.

Samsung’s US support page still documents Samsung News and Google Discover as choices for the far-left Home screen panel. The page explains how to switch between them, but it does not give a US-specific discontinuation date. US Galaxy users should check for an in-app service notice before assuming their region is covered.

United Kingdom: has Samsung confirmed the notice?

A Samsung Community moderator in a UK discussion said they had received the discontinuation notice and recommended choosing Google Discover through the Home screen settings. This is stronger than a user rumour, but it is still a community confirmation rather than a published UK newsroom announcement. The December 21 date should be described as reported for users who receive the notice.

The UK Google Trends Trending Now list also showed the query Samsung News app discontinued 2026 in its 10K+ band with a 1,000% increase in the October 31 snapshot. The band represents the live trend display, not a steady monthly search total.

Canada: is the service still available?

Samsung Canada’s general help material describes Samsung News and says availability can depend on the country and device. However, its “What is Samsung News?” page carries a June 2023 update date. It cannot establish the exact Canadian service status in October 2026. We did not locate a Canada-specific closure notice in the sources reviewed.

Australia: is Samsung News affected?

We did not find an Australia-specific discontinuation notice in the Samsung Australia support material reviewed for this article. That is not confirmation that Australian users are exempt. If Samsung News is available on your Galaxy device, check the app’s notices and Samsung Australia’s latest support updates.

Why is Samsung News trending?

Samsung News is a curated news service for compatible Galaxy phones and tablets. It brings articles and headlines from multiple publishers into a Samsung interface, and Samsung’s support material also describes podcasts and personalisation features.

The latest search spike follows reports of an in-app discontinuation notice. People are looking for the date, whether their country is affected, what will happen to the Home screen feed and which app they should use instead.

Samsung has not provided a verified public explanation for why it is ending the service. Claims that the decision is due to low usage, licensing costs or a move to Google Discover should not be presented as Samsung’s confirmed reason unless the company publishes that explanation.

What happens to the Samsung News app, widget and personal data?

The data statement is about information connected with Samsung News. It should not be interpreted as a promise that all Samsung Account data, phone data or information held by third-party publishers will be deleted.

We have not found a confirmed tool for exporting a Samsung News profile or transferring followed publishers to another service. If you rely on a particular source, make a note of its name and save important publisher links or articles separately before the service ends.

What will replace Samsung News?

Samsung has not announced a new Samsung-branded news app as a direct replacement in the sources reviewed. Google Discover is the closest built-in alternative on Galaxy devices where it is supported. Samsung’s US support guide already explains how users can switch between Samsung News and Google Discover on the leftmost Home screen panel.

Google Discover is a personalised feed integrated into supported Android Home screen experiences. Google News is a separate app for browsing headlines and following topics. They are related ways to discover news, but they are not identical products.

How to switch from Samsung News to Google Discover

The exact menu names can differ by One UI version, model, carrier and region. Try the Home screen method first, then look for the media-page setting if your phone uses a different layout.

1. Touch and hold an empty area of the Home screen.
   Wait until the Home screen enters edit mode and the pages become visible.
2. Swipe to the far-left media page.
   On supported phones, this is the page where Samsung News or Google Discover appears.
3. Select Google Discover.
   If both choices are displayed, tap Google Discover to make it the selected feed.
4. Check the Home screen.
   Exit edit mode and swipe right from the main Home screen to confirm that the selected feed opens.

Samsung’s US support instructions also explain that you can turn off the media page or select Google Discover from the Home screen editing screen. See the Samsung Galaxy News and Google Discover guide.

Before December 21: quick checklist

Five minutes now saves you from a blank Home screen panel later.

• Open Samsung News and look for the discontinuation notice on your own device.
• Write down your favourite sources so you can follow them elsewhere.
• Save any articles you want to keep, since profile data is reported to be deleted.
• Switch the media page to Google Discover, or turn it off.
• Remove the Samsung News widget from your Home screen.

Best Samsung News alternatives for Galaxy users

The right replacement depends on how you used Samsung News. If you mainly swiped to read a personalised feed, Google Discover is the easiest first option. If you prefer a standalone news app or want more control over sources, compare these alternatives:

Before choosing an alternative, check which publishers are available in your country, whether the app supports the topics you follow and how its personalisation settings work. No third-party app can be assumed to import your Samsung News profile automatically.

Explore Google News, Flipboard and Feedly.

Sources and verification

This article distinguishes the in-app discontinuation notice reported by technology publications from regional support pages and community discussions. Country availability can change. The sources below were checked for this update on October 31, 2026.

1. SamMobile: Samsung News app on Galaxy devices is being shut down — reports the in-app notice, date, affected service elements and user-data statement.
2. Android Authority: Samsung is killing another key Galaxy service — additional reporting on the December 21 date and widget.
3. Samsung Community UK discussion — a community moderator confirms receiving the notice and gives a Google Discover setting path.
4. Samsung US Support: Samsung News and Google Discover — instructions for activating or deactivating the Home screen feed.
5. Samsung Canada Support: What is Samsung News? — general service information, last updated June 2, 2023.
6. Samsung Australia Support News and Alerts — regional support notice index reviewed for this update.
7. Google Trends Trending Now: United States and United Kingdom — country trend snapshots.
8. ITJungles: Switching Samsung News and Google Discover on Galaxy S26 — third-party video walkthrough embedded above (not an official Samsung video).

Editorial note: Samsung has not given a verified public reason for discontinuing Samsung News in the sources cited here. This page will need a factual update if Samsung publishes new country-specific information or changes the stated date.