Samsung dinged for slipping ads into the Z Flip's stock apps

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It's a little-used part of the phone app, but for some, it's the principle that counts.

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What you need to know

  • Samsung has been criticized for including ads in some parts of the Galaxy Z Flip.
  • The ads in question were spotted in Samsung's phone app.
  • The firm includes these on all phones running its software, not just the Z Flip.

Samsung has been dinged for placing ads in the
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phone app this week. While smartphone OEMs like Xiaomi sometimes use commercial partnerships to subsidize the costs of their phones, the Galaxy Z Flip is an expensive, conceptual smartphone that some buyers feel shouldn't need ads.

It's already spawned some debate on social media.

Samsung has ads in the phone app — the app you open to place calls — on its $1,380 Galaxy Z Flip.
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— Todd Haselton (@robotodd)
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1.) The excuse "Samsung has to make money" is obscene. 2.) I opted in to use a local point of interest feature, not for ads. 3.) I spent $1,380 on this phone. I don't want ads like this anywhere! 4.) I know I can use Google's app. 5.) It's on other Samsung phones.

— Todd Haselton (@robotodd)
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That is in a hard-to-find secondary tab called "Places" which then requests several layers of permissions. 95% of people will never click on or see that screen with the ads. Not on primary dialer screen.
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— Sascha Segan (@saschasegan)
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It's a little bit of a contentious subject with a few obvious caveats. The ad placement isn't limited to the Z Flip, it appears in all Samsung phones but only become prominently noticeable in the Flip over the weekend. The ad itself is located in the Samsung phone app, a place that not many users will be heading to on a day to day basis. It's also in the Places section, a further sub-panel that even fewer users will be going on a day to day basis.

But then again, the Z Flip does cost over $1400. If there is any phone we shouldn't need to make apologetics for, it's one that costs over a grand. But then again, we've been accepting ad-creep in our software from
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to
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for years now that perhaps it's become hard for manufacturers to know what's acceptable and users to know what to complain about.

Many people won't notice the Z Flip ad, but maybe there's a discussion to be had there about whether Samsung — and other OEMs in general — should be more mindful about ad placement on their devices, especially higher priced ones.

Really Expensive

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip


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The price is high, the value is undeniable.

The Galaxy Z Flip brings back the flip phone form-factor to 2020, alongside a high price. If you don't mind the ads and potential fragility, it may be worth a look.

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