Samsung is infamous for duplicating apps and services that already come with Android and for using rampant advertising in its own apps. And while the firm isn’t promising to stop loading down its handsets with bloatware, it is at least addressing that latter issue.

“Samsung has made a decision to cease the advertisement on proprietary apps including Samsung Weather, Samsung Pay, and Samsung Theme,” a Samsung statement reads. “The update will be ready by later this year. Our priority is to deliver innovative mobile experiences for our consumers based on their needs and wants. We value feedback from our users and continue our commitment to provide them with the best possible experience from our Galaxy products and services.”

Reading into that statement, it’s clear that my complaints about Samsung’s expensive handsets were not unique and that many of its customers—some of whom paid well over $1000 for the company’s flagship devices—were upset to see advertising all over Samsung’s often-duplicative apps.

It’s unclear why Samsung thought this policy was OK in the first place. And while I agree that a win is a win, we’ll need to see how dramatic this change really is as Samsung’s phones are infested with ads (and with unnecessary extra apps and services, many of which cannot even be removed).

Maybe customer outrage can convince Samsung that it’s time to kill Bixby too.

Tagged with Samsung