Survey: Samsung bloatware sits unused

BY GreenBot Staff

Published 23 Apr 2014

Samsung isn’t gaining much traction in its efforts to slather its Android phones with its own apps services, according to Strategy Analytics.

The research firm surveyed 250 users of Samsung’s Galaxy S3 S4 in the United States, using an app that monitors smartphone usage rewards users for their participation. The survey found that Samsung’s apps don’t account for nearly as much usage as popular apps services.

On average, the surveyed Galaxy S3 S4 users spent just under seven minutes with key Samsung apps, such as the messaging app ChatOn the Samsung Apps store. Those same users spent 149 minutes per month on the ay Store, Search, YouTube alone.

Samsung’s ChatOn app, which is supposed to be an answer to messaging apps like atsApp, was among the worst performers, accounting for just 0.1 minutes of usage among Galaxy S3 S4 users. Samsung’s S Voice S Memo apps fared the best, but still only accounted for 3.6 minutes 3.9 minutes per month, respectively, on the Galaxy S4, while Galaxy S3 users only spent 2.5 minutes with each service.

The good news for Samsung is that Galaxy S3 S4 users consume 14 percent more video than the industry average, 24 percent more data, suggesting that users are enjoying their Samsung hsets. They’re just not paying much attention to Samsung’s own apps services.

Samsung wants to push its apps as a way of reducing dependence on . As the ll Street urnal notes, npyo Hong, the president of Samsung’s Solution Center, has called software “crucial,” said the company has more research engineers working on software than hardware.

Samsung has also been a key player in developing Tizen, an open-source operating system similar to Android, has used the OS on its latest Galaxy Gear smartwatches. A Tizen-based Samsung phone may also be in the works, but the gap in usage between Samsung services shows just how far Samsung has to go before such a device would be viable.