2014/04/24 Samsung Galaxy Series Riding High on Overall User Engagement, but lukewarm Response to its Content and App Strategy.

Strategy Analytics’ AppOptix Reveals Insights from Samsung Galaxy Flagship series.

Boston, MA – April 22, 2014 – Based on March 2014 AppOptix data, Strategy Analytics’ Consumer Telemetry Platform,  despite Samsung’s  heavy push in content and app strategy through Samsung App Store, Media Hub, and in-house apps,  Galaxy S3 and S4 users look beyond its ecosystem for the vast majority of on-device usage.

Samsung boasts a wide range of apps in its portfolio, some pre-installed with the device and the remaining accessible via Google Play and Samsung App stores.

Based on AppOptix March 2014 US panel data on 250-plus Galaxy S3 and S4 users , the total time spent across key Samsung Apps on its flagship devices - Galaxy S3 and S4 – came just under 7 minutes, whereas the same Galaxy user spent 149 minutes amongst three of Google Apps.

In terms of content discovery and updates, Samsung Hub and Samsung App Store, its primary channel for content downloads, is again lagging behind the segment leader by a wide margin.  AppOptix data shows a typical Galaxy S3/S4 user spends 64 minutes/month (combined) on Google Play, whereas the same figures for Samsung Hub and Samsung App store are just 0.6 minutes.

However, in terms of overall usage, Galaxy is a top performing device, where Galaxy S3 and S4 users (combined) consume 14% more video and 24% more data above the industry average.

Bonny Joy, Chief, Consumer Telemetry Platforms, said:  “Clearly, Galaxy Sx series have succeeded in creating more engagement by growing the overall pie, but its own content and media strategy is faring low at the moment. Galaxy S5 is a step-upgrade from the Galaxy S4, but as far as content and media is concerned, little has changed to draw consumer attention to its latest launch.”

Barry Gilbert, Vice President, said: “Our data shows that Galaxy S4 users on average have 21 more apps (includes pre-installed and downloaded) than the industry average. Obviously, Samsung’s dominant position in the market is an ideal vehicle to drive own-branded content services across its installed base, but Samsung should develop a differentiated set of apps that will resonate with its key user base.