Samsung finally removes ads from Samsung Pay and Samsung Health

Although Xiaomi is notorious for having built-in ads, Samsung also has a similar annoying problem when it comes to its native apps. If you used Samsung Pay or Samsung Health, there’s usually an ad banner that appears on the top which also displays non-Samsung-related ads.

As promised by Samsung Mobile chief TM Roh, the Korean smartphone maker has finally gotten rid of them started this month. Samsung Pay, which is one of their key ecosystem features is no longer showing ads. Instead of an ad carousel, all you get is just a blank top section with “Samsung Pay”. There are no more credit card promotions or random ads for Android apps.

If you use Samsung Health to track your fitness, the ads are reportedly removed starting from 1st October. According to Sammobile, South Korean users have started noticing the change a few days ago and Samsung is expected to expand the ad-free experience to more countries. It isn’t clear if this will be applicable across the range including its more affordable Galaxy A series.

Most budget smartphones are usually pre-installed with apps or ads due to partnership agreements. Not only it helps the brand to generate more revenue but it enables them to sell the devices at a more competitive price. This is quite common with brands like Asus and Xiaomi where they can offer bang for buck mid-range devices but it comes pre-loaded with apps that are often described as bloatware.

For a brand like Samsung, most fans find it unacceptable to see ads after spending a premium price on their devices. The ads not only appear on budget phones but also on their foldable devices that cost more than RM6,000. If consumers are paying more than an iPhone, everyone should expect an ad-free experience on the native apps. At least now, Samsung is making the right move, so it is better late than never.