Epic is suing Samsung and Google for One UI’s Auto Blocker shenanigans

[phillynews215]

Unknown app blocked on a Galaxy Z Flip 6
Credit: Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority

• Epic is suing Samsung and Google over One UI 6.1.1’s Auto Blocker feature.
• The Auto Blocker feature is enabled by default on phones that ship with One UI 6.1.1, like the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6.
• The feature blocks app sideloading, allowing only the Google Play Store and the Samsung Galaxy Store to install new apps or update existing ones.

Samsung’s latest update is One UI 6.1.1 based on Android 14. It is available on its latest foldables, such as the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6, and has also been rolled out to its other recent flagships. One of the controversial changes in this update is that Samsung is using Auto Blocker to block app sideloading by default on phones that launch with One UI 6.1.1. Today, Epic is suing Samsung for this change, and it is dragging Google along with it.

Epic has filed a court case against Google and Samsung over “coordinated efforts to block competition in app distribution on Samsung devices,” namely through the Auto Blocker feature on One UI 6.1.1. Epic alleges that the Auto Blocker feature was “intentionally crafted” in coordination with Google to pre-emptively undermine the ruling in Epic’s court cases against Google for app sideloading.




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