Samsung adds Amazon Music to Galaxy phone bloatware

Samsung is adding Amazon Music to the list of apps that come pre-installed on its Galaxy phones and tablets, a move announced just ahead of next week’s Galaxy Unpacked event.

For many buyers, the change will be minor. But for anyone who dislikes extra software loaded onto a device out of the box, it is another addition to Samsung’s growing stack of pre-installed third-party apps.

To soften the change, Samsung and Amazon are offering a free three-month subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited for people who download the app through the Samsung Galaxy Store, which is itself pre-installed on Galaxy devices. To qualify, users need to sign up or download the app from the Galaxy Store within the next 12 months.

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The broader issue is storage and control. Samsung devices already ship with apps including Facebook, Instagram, OneDrive, LinkedIn, Spotify and others, which together can take up more than 1GB of space. Most of those apps can be removed after setup, but some — including Facebook — can only be disabled, leaving parts of the software on the phone.

That makes Samsung’s approach stand out against rivals such as Apple, whose iPhones do not come with third-party apps installed by default. And anyone claiming the free trial should watch the fine print: if it is not canceled, the subscription automatically renews at $13 a month.