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Samsung explains how it wants to differentiate its app store

Samsung says the difference between the Play Store and the Galaxy Apps Store will be the same as the difference between Walmart and a boutique.

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Published onMay 24, 2016

Samsung is unarguably a massive player in the Android market, but the company also has ambitions of creating platforms of its own. In the spirit of this, the Korean tech titan is making some key changes to the Galaxy Apps Store that it hopes will distinguish it from the Google Play Store in the eyes of developers. Their aim is to get as many app and game devs on board the exclusive Made for Samsung train.

At the GamesBeat Summit 2016 event, VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi interviewed vice president of emerging platforms Mihai Pohontu. Pohontu revealed the company’s looming plans for their dedicated app store, and of particular interest is their coming investment in games. Samsung has already had a modicum of success with their Samsung-exclusive line of differentiated apps, and they’re excited about the work they’ve been doing with CNN, Expedia, Lyft, and others in the Made for Samsung program. Now they want to bring game developers into the fold.

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This might seem a bit counter-intuitive. After all, why would a game developer want to limit themselves to Galaxy devices when there’s a whole ecosystem of international users downloading games from the Play Store on a slew of devices every single day? Pohontu says the difference between the Play Store and the Galaxy Apps Store will be the same as the difference between Walmart and a boutique. Samsung wants to lure in developers with promotional systems that will allow them to generate 30,000 to 40,000 US installs per month. These promotions would be long-running, in contrast to the spurt of publicity that promoted games and apps get in the Play Store.

Samsung not only wants to throw money and attention at promising developers, they also want to help them get their names out in the industry. Pohontu says that when you’re getting your app promoted by Samsung, you’re entering into a co-development relationship with the company. This means regular presence at tradeshows alongside Samsung, including CES and the Mobile World Congress. The company believes that these opportunities for exposure will be enough to attract developers to be exclusive with them.

What do you think of Samsung’s interest in creating a kind of curated boutique in their app store, with users benefitting from apps built with well-backed development and developers benefiting from exposure and opportunities for growth? Let us know your opinion in the comments below!