There has been growing competition among the app stores of several companies. For Samsung, it's gearing up for the launch of a new and made over app store that promises to provide consumers with hundreds of the latest apps. The company plans to focus on the apps' exclusive content and provide a number of promotions and product discounts. The move hopes to cut Google's earnings from its own Play store which features apps that run on Android gadgets and devices.
Samsung's app store is widely accessible on each of the Galaxy mobile phones and tablets. Though the company has more than 130 million subscribers, most of them would access the apps through Google Play which has a wider range of apps and has a stronger appeal on Android devices.
As a response to the situation, Samsung is launching the Samsung-exclusive GALAXY Apps which are customized under the company's SDK in order to deliver services such as the S Pen, multi windowing, and the Samsung 'home appliance' network.
Samsung Electronics' Media Solution Center President WonPyo Hong says, "At Samsung, we continuously strive to create value for our customers by providing differentiated solutions and services coupled with innovative devices." He added that "Samsung GALAXY Apps is an extension of that promise, as it offers our customers exclusive apps to enrich their experience."
The new Galaxy app store promises to provide consumers with easy access to the apps on their Samsung Galaxy devices. It boasts of a smart user interface that's divided into a trio of sections namely Top, Best Picks, and lastly, For Galaxy.
The Top section contains apps which have the highest popularity and are neatly organized based on their popularity, price point, and release date. The Best Picks section shows apps and promotions which have been recommended.
The section called For Galaxy is further broken down into four. These are: 1. Galaxy Gifts (premium apps available exclusively to Galaxy device users); 2. Galaxy Essentials ("must-have or essential apps"); 3. Apps for Professional users (business inclined apps); and 4. Galaxy Specials (downloadable apps through the company's SDKs).
The revamped app store is also seen as Samsung's effort to change the "weak demand" on its products which had caused a profit decline for the third quarter in a row. The company admitted that unlike Apple, it competes on the market price and not on differentiated software. It may seem like a faint move as the company struggles to get out of Google Play's shadow and dominate the app ecosystem at least among the users of Android devices.
