Deliver us from evil: Samsung finally removes ads from stock apps
If you use a Samsung smartphone, you will still be able to find ads appear in some of its system apps. This can be especially annoying if you were to have spent more than $1,000 for a Galaxy S21+ or a Samsung foldable! Thankfully, the South Korean manufacturer has finally come to its senses, citing that it will no longer include ads in the affected stock apps. NextPit has gathered the lowdown on just which particular Samsung apps will be affected by this long-awaited news.
- Samsung will remove ads in its own system apps.
- Ads were introduced just last year in apps such as Samsung Music, Samsung Pay, and others.
- This move aims to improve the user experience in the Galaxy ecosystem.
Last year, Samsung introduced ads in its very own system apps. What did that mean? For those who picked up a Galaxy S21 Ultra that costs more than $1,000, you could expect to see ads in apps like Samsung Pay, Samsung Music, or even Samsung's very own weather app. Of course, this is not only a thorn in the side of many users, but it is also a turn-off for many from using Samsung's stock apps.
Samsung must have finally realized what a huge mistake they have done, as the manufacturer recently announced that it will remove ads from its own mobile operating system skin, OneUI. According to SamMobile, Samsung's "President and Head of Mobile Communications Business" shared this information via an online conference. This decision, among other things, is a reaction to internal criticism.
The Galaxy ecosystem should be strengthened
SamMobile further mentioned that Samsung wants to strengthen its own Galaxy ecosystem. Since ads in the apps have received much brickbats, the manufacturer is now looking for "new opportunities to grow in the area of content and advertising services." Hence, it remains to be seen whether Samsung will no longer integrate such ads elsewhere in the operating system or not just to draw attention to its own services.
It's also quite possible that Samsung's decision is a reaction to the declining sales of Galaxy devices. Personally, I wonder if this approach is the right one. It's possible that it's not the ads that are driving smartphone seekers away from Samsung, but flagships without a microSD memory card slot or other shortcomings that we came across in our reviews of Samsung's new flagships could be more concrete reasons. After all, Xiaomi's MIUI has plenty of ads, and yet they have taken top spot in terms of worldwide smartphone sales recently, haven't they?
This begs the question: Were you aware that Samsung displayed ads in its own apps? While I myself have used smartphones from the manufacturer for quite a while this year, I've never come across any such ads. As an ecosystem outsider, I don't use Samsung Pay or even Samsung Music in the first place.
Feel free to vote in the poll and discuss the manufacturer's decision below this article in the comments!
Source: Sammobile
Now if they'll just stop it with the stock apps and skins entirely!