Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and others are getting even more bloatware

Amazon Music will be pre-installed on millions of Samsung Galaxy devices going forward. What sounds like a threat is being marketed by Samsung as a benefit for Galaxy users. Samsung and Amazon have apparently reached an agreement that will result in the Amazon Music app not only being available in the Samsung Galaxy Store, but also being pre-installed on new smartphones.

Customers whose smartphones come with Amazon Music pre-installed or who download it from the Galaxy Store can use Amazon Music Unlimited for three months free of charge, giving them access to over 100 million songs without commercial breaks. After this trial period ends, the subscription costs $11.99 per month, or $10.99 per month for Prime subscribers. While the offer may be attractive to Amazon Music users, for all other buyers of Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets, this move means that the list of bloatware apps that may need to be removed is growing by one more entry.

Even now, smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra ($1,030 on Amazon) come preloaded with many redundant apps. For example, the smartphone includes both Google Chrome and the Samsung Browser, Gmail and Samsung Email, the Google Play Store and the Samsung Galaxy Store, as well as apps like Audible, Microsoft OneDrive, and the Facebook App Manager. Depending on the carrier, additional apps may be included that many users don’t need.