According to recent revelations from the antitrust trial between the DOJ and Google, Google pays Apple and Samsung billions of dollars to ensure that it remains the default search engine on iPhone and Galaxy devices. Testimony from Patrick Chang, a former executive at Samsung Next, has shed some light on these payments.

Chang’s role at Samsung Next was to seek out innovative companies for Samsung to invest in. He had discussions with senior executives at the company about adding an app called Branch to its Android devices. Branch is a search engine that searches within apps instead of the web to provide answers to queries.

Alexander Austin, the founder and former CEO of Branch Metrics, testified last month that some of the software’s functions were dropped to please Google and secure deals with carriers and smartphone manufacturers. One example is that Branch’s searches had to stay within apps and couldn’t be based on the web.

Samsung Next’s Chang also testified that AT&T and other wireless carriers also opposed Samsung using Branch because they were receiving a portion of Samsung’s annual payments. These carriers were also selling a significant number of Android phones. The Justice Department alleges that Google pays phone manufacturers and wireless companies $10 billion annually to be the default search engine on smartphones.

During the trial, an email from Samsung executive David Eun in August 2020 was presented as evidence, in which he complained that “Google is clearly buying its way to squelch competitors.”

However, there was testimony suggesting that Samsung had legitimate reasons for not wanting to use the Branch Search app. A Google attorney cross-examined Samsung Next’s Chang, who stated that Samsung may have been uninterested in using Branch because the software was not user-friendly and had low engagement from users clicking on search result links.

The antitrust trial is currently in its fourth week, with another month of testimony still to come.