Here’s what Galaxy phone users are currently thinking about using Samsung apps

Samsung makes several standard applications for its Galaxy phones. From Samsung Gallery to Samsung Notes, Samsung Calendar to Samsung Internet and more — Galaxy phone users have the option to stay fully within the Samsung ecosystem if they choose. But that is not what most of them prefer, at least not exclusively.

The results were mostly unanimous on all three platforms on which we conducted surveys. On our website, only 9% of a total of 2,600 voters said they only use standard Samsung apps on their Galaxy phones. 64% of voters said they use a combination of Samsung and alternative apps, with the latter mostly consisting of Google apps. 27% of respondents stay away from Samsung apps completely and rely only on alternatives.

“Dialing numbers, contacts, messages, gallery, calculator from Samsung. Mail (Gmail, ofc), browser, calendar and app store from Google,” said a user, echoing what we see in the comments on our polls.

This sentiment was also reflected in our YouTube poll, which collected just over 4,700 votes. However, we found that a large portion of our YouTube audience outright rejected Samsung’s apps in favor of other options.

“I have a Samsung S20 phone, but I prefer to use Google apps or alternatives to Samsung apps. If there was a way to uninstall them, I’d do it,” commented one Galaxy user who participated in our YouTube poll.

“I use the basics like the phone’s messaging app, the gallery app, the camera app, the calendar calculator apps, and the health app,” said another Galaxy user.

On Xu (formerly Twitter), Galaxy users once again expressed that they use both Samsung’s stock apps and alternatives instead of sticking only to the South Korean company’s apps. Of the 990 votes polled on the platform, 43.6% said they don’t use Samsung apps at all.

While surveys show that Galaxy users are reluctant to put all their eggs in Samsung’s basket, comments show that Samsung is definitely moving in the right direction when it comes to introducing new features to its native apps.

“Now I use all the original Samsung apps because they are much more feature rich. Only Gmail and Google Messages are an exception,” the user said.

With One UI 6.1, Samsung also brings more innovative AI features to older flagships, which positively affects user perception of its apps.

“Samsung Calendar plus Reminder is actually the reason I chose the S24 over the Pixel 8 – priceless monthly view with all of the above, good widget and I don’t mind using an online calendar like GCal does. I also liked the built-in AI translation/dictation/rewording/gallery features – I simply flip Process data only on the device switch and it’s like an iPhone in terms of privacy, except without all the Apple railroads,” said a Galaxy S24 owner.

“I use Google apps, but they are getting worse. As the features in Samsung’s apps catch up and become more integrated with themselves, I might go back,” the user commented.

So while the scales aren’t currently tipping in favor of Samsung’s apps, it’s not that users don’t find them useful. In fact, if the trend we’re seeing continues in this direction, we might even see more users relying solely on Samsung apps and ditching the alternatives.