Samsung has announced that Amazon Music will now come pre-installed on its Galaxy phones and tablets, a move revealed just before the company’s next Galaxy Unpacked event. The change may not matter much to some buyers, but it could be an unwelcome addition for anyone who prefers a cleaner setup when opening a new device.
To soften the blow, Samsung and Amazon are also offering a three-month free subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited for people who download the app through Samsung’s Galaxy Store. That store is itself preloaded on Galaxy devices, so the promotion is tied closely to Samsung’s own software ecosystem. According to the report, the offer is available only if users sign up or download the app within the next 12 months.
Still, the addition puts Samsung in a familiar category of phone makers that preload third-party apps on their devices. The report points out that Galaxy phones already come with apps such as Facebook, Instagram, OneDrive, LinkedIn, and Spotify, and that the total amount of pre-installed software can take up more than 1GB of storage. Most of those apps can be removed after setup, but some, including Facebook, can only be disabled rather than fully deleted.
For consumers, the main practical concern is that Amazon Music now joins that default app lineup. The trial itself may be useful for anyone curious about the service, but it comes with a catch: if it isn’t canceled, the subscription renews automatically at $13 per month.
Source: engadget.com
