Samsung Rebrands Its App Store 'Galaxy Apps'; Offers 'Hundreds of Exclusive Apps'

Samsung, in an attempt to take on the dominance of Google Play, has rebranded its app store and launched it under the name Samsung Galaxy Apps. The South Korean giant on Friday announced that its Galaxy Apps store will be available to over 130 million users across 161 countries.

"Samsung Electronics launched Samsung Galaxy Apps, an app store that offers hundreds of apps exclusively available to users of Samsung Galaxy mobile devices," the company said in a blog post. "An improvement upon its predecessor, Samsung Apps, the new app store features apps that will allow greater customisation of mobile devices and will also function as a platform to offer various promotions and discounts."

The new Samsung Galaxy Apps store is divided into three sections including Best Picks, Top, and For Galaxy. These three sections are further divided into more sub categories. Best Picks will include recommended apps and promotions, while the Top section will comprise of popular apps (which can be viewed according to the popularity, date, and price). Lastly, the For Galaxy section is divided into four categories - Galaxy Gifts, offering premium apps exclusively for Galaxy devices; Galaxy Essentials, must-have apps; Apps for Professionals, business-focused apps and other services; and Galaxy Specials, apps created using Samsung SDKs.

(Also see: Third-party App Stores Go Where Google Play Does Not)

Commenting on the announcement, WonPyo Hong, President of the Media Solution Center at Samsung Electronic said, "At Samsung, we continuously strive to create value for our customers by providing differentiated solutions and services coupled with innovative devices. Samsung Galaxy Apps is an extension of that promise, as it offers our customers exclusive apps to enrich their experience."

Earlier this year, Samsung in partnership with Amazon launched a custom-built ebook service, called 'Kindle for Samsung', for its Galaxy devices. Previously in March, Samsung had launched a free music service for its Galaxy smartphone users, similar to services like Pandora, Spotify and Apple's iTunes. The service, dubbed "Milk Music", offered some 200 ad-free radio stations to US customers with Samsung Galaxy devices.