Galaxy Store update in India brings sneaky app suggestions

Samsung rebranded the Galaxy Apps store to Galaxy Store with the One UI redesign earlier this year. An update was released for Galaxy Apps in February, bringing in the design overhaul as well as the rebranding. The update has finally arrived for users in India, but you may not like it. While the update does bring the refreshed user interface, it may also trick you to download some apps you may or may not need.

Unnecessary app suggestions

Samsung is rolling out version 6.6 of Galaxy Store in India. The new version appears to be easier to navigate, but now, the Galaxy Store also suggests you to download some unnecessary apps when you first fire it up after the update is installed, through a collaboration with third-party app store Indus App Bazaar. And you may easily get tricked into downloading those apps if you’re not paying attention, as they come pre-selected. You have to manually deselect the apps to avoid installing them.

Samsung is probably doing this to make extra money now that it’s losing profit on budget and mid-range phones due to aggressive pricing. Budget and mid-range Galaxy smartphones launched in India offer similar suggestions for apps when a device is first set up and by putting up a persistent notification that only goes away once the user taps the notification and approves or denies the app suggestions. However, even Galaxy S10 owners are seeing these app suggestions in the Galaxy Store, and it’s not something they’ll appreciate after paying upwards of Rs. 70,000 (~$1020) for the flagship phone.