I've spent a couple of hours Googling, and while I found lots of
copies of the same few answers, none of them worked.[*]

MY SETUP: Android 13 Samsung Galaxy A54 5G phone, a couple of weeks
old. I'm using the factory Samsung Phone app. I don't like the UI in
the Samsung Contacts app, so I downloaded the Google Contacts app
from the Google Play Store, since I used and liked it on my old
phone. It works just fine, and can connect to the Samsung Phone and
Messages apps when I want to make calls and send texts.
I removed the Samsung Contacts app icon from my home screen and
added the Google contacts icon to my home screen.

MY QUESTION: How can I make the factory Samsung Phone app open Google
Contacts (when I press "Contacts" in the Phone app) instead of
opening Samsung's own Contacts app? I looked at the various
places for default apps in Settings and in the Phone app itself, but
couldn't find anything to do this.

Please note: the question is NOT how to access my Google contacts
list through the Samsung Contacts app; I know how to do that but I
don't want the Samsung Contacts user interface.

Maybe this is relevant: In the factory Phone app, in Recents, I
short-tap a phone number and a small panel comes up showing "Add to
contacts +" and icons for Phone app, Messaging app, some Google thing
(maybe Meet?) and i-in-a-circle. I tap "Add to Contacts +", then
"Create new contact". Up comes a small panel headed "Complete action
using" with i-in-a-circle, icons for Google Contacts and Samsung
Contacts, and a choice of "Just once" or "Always".
Though I select Google Contacts and Always, I get the same panel
next time I tap a recent phone call and "Add to contacts +".
The i-in-a-circle text is "To change default app settings, go to
Settings > Apps > Choose default apps." I do that, but the only
choices are Browser app, Caller ID & spam app, Digital assistant app,
Home app, Phone app, SMS app, and Opening links -- no way to set
Contacts app as far as I can see.

In Settings > Apps > [Samsung] Contacts, I've blocked Notifications,
denied all Permissions, and changed "Set as default" to "In other
app." When I long-press the Samsung Contacts app icon, I get i-in-a-
circle (which takes me to the same Apps > Contacts screen in
settings), Create contact, View your Profile, Select, Add to Home,
and Widgets -- no choice to Block or Uninstall.

FWIW, in my Googling I found one statement that you can't change the
default Contacts app on Samsung Galaxy. I'm hoping that person was
misinformed.

[*] "Didn't work" means that the directions told me to tap menu
settings that existed in their screenshots but not on my phone. Where
there was a possibly similar wording, I tried it but that was always
a false lead.

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...