Companies can’t help themselves and do things that may look good in the boardroom but draw groans from real consumers. We doubt it’ll be one of those things – Samsung US has just announced that select Galaxy phones and tablets will come pre-installed with the Amazon Music app.
To be fair, the bloatware does come with one benefit – you get 3 months of free subscription. This gives you access to all the songs and podcasts on the service as well as one free audiobook from Audible per month.
The Amazon Music Unlimited subscription is $13 per month and you can normally only get a 1-month trial. It also gives you access to Audible, which itself costs $9 per month (after a 1-month trial).
Amazon Music Unlimited has more than 100 million songs, a growing number of which are available in Ultra HD and spatial audio. Artists livestream and artist merchandise is available. There are also millions of podcasts.
amazon music app
So, it’s great value – and you can get it even if you don’t buy a new Galaxy device. If you download the app from the Galaxy Store, you should get a 3-month free trial. However, make sure you visit the Galaxy Store and not the Google Play Store.
This is actually part of the announcement – Amazon Music is now available on the Galaxy Store (it wasn’t before and we still don’t see it on our devices). We’re not sure why this is such a big deal, even though it’s been available on the Play Store for years.
Good value or not, we wish Samsung had left it up to the user – download Amazon Music and get a free trial. Who doesn’t love free stuff? But whether you want it or not, having apps pre-installed is annoying.
Well, only Samsung US posted about this, but then the press release says to pre-install the app “Millions of select Samsung mobile and tablet devices globally,” So we’re not sure if this is happening only in the US or globally.
Here’s what the executives who brainstormed this promo have to say about it:
“We are constantly looking for new ways to deliver exclusive benefits and value to our Galaxy users. Through our collaboration with Amazon Music, Samsung continues to enhance the premium experiences in the Galaxy experience.” said Ezzat Assayas, head of CTV and mobile business development.
“By pre-installing Amazon Music on select Galaxy devices and making it available in Galaxy stores, we’re putting world-class audio entertainment in customers’ hands from the very first moment – with a free Amazon Music Unlimited trial to make that first experience truly extraordinary,” says Karolina Joynathsingh, director of business development at Amazon Music.