Ads? Now that’s a curious one. I’ve been using my S20FE for over a year and haven’t noticed any ads besides things like a banner in settings that introduces a new functionality.
I bought the unlocked version directly from Samsung in Canada.
My phone had ads in all of the Samsung apps. When I opened the Galaxy app store to update my Samsung apps, it was FULL of ads and popups. It kept redirecting me to sponsored stuff, despite me just trying to update my Samsung apps. The Galaxy store app also kept sending me notifications for trying out new games and stuff.
Then when I long pressed on the home screen, I could change wallpaper, widgets, and “themes”. Pressing the themes took me to the app store where it just tried to shove more paid stuff down my throat.
While I think the theme store is a good idea, since it was a prominent button on the home screen, I just feel like it should’ve taken me to a page with a couple built in Samsung themes, with a button that says “get more from the theme store”. Powering up my $2000 CAD phone and instantly being thrown into a store to buy stuff soured my experience.
For comparison, my Pixel 7 Pro has no ads. All of my Google apps don’t shove any ads down my throat. I have also never gotten a notification from the Play Store about newly released apps or sponsored apps. My phone also never came with preinstalled bloatware like Amazon, OneDrive, Facebook, etc. My Pixel was also $700 LESS than my Samsung.
Pixel 7 Pro.
Tried an S22 Ultra but couldn’t get over the ads all over the OS, pre-installed bloatware, and the terrible camera shutter lag ):
Ads? Now that’s a curious one. I’ve been using my S20FE for over a year and haven’t noticed any ads besides things like a banner in settings that introduces a new functionality.
What ads were you seeing?
I bought the unlocked version directly from Samsung in Canada.
My phone had ads in all of the Samsung apps. When I opened the Galaxy app store to update my Samsung apps, it was FULL of ads and popups. It kept redirecting me to sponsored stuff, despite me just trying to update my Samsung apps. The Galaxy store app also kept sending me notifications for trying out new games and stuff.
Then when I long pressed on the home screen, I could change wallpaper, widgets, and “themes”. Pressing the themes took me to the app store where it just tried to shove more paid stuff down my throat.
While I think the theme store is a good idea, since it was a prominent button on the home screen, I just feel like it should’ve taken me to a page with a couple built in Samsung themes, with a button that says “get more from the theme store”. Powering up my $2000 CAD phone and instantly being thrown into a store to buy stuff soured my experience.
Samsung will soon stop showing ads in its stock apps
For comparison, my Pixel 7 Pro has no ads. All of my Google apps don’t shove any ads down my throat. I have also never gotten a notification from the Play Store about newly released apps or sponsored apps. My phone also never came with preinstalled bloatware like Amazon, OneDrive, Facebook, etc. My Pixel was also $700 LESS than my Samsung.