While we don’t have any official figures on the matter, we’d suggest the proportion of recent Samsung phone buyers that heard about the Note 10 launch last week might be pretty high.
However, these hasn’t stopped the company angling for upgrades by spamming current device owners with advertisements for the new Note 10 smartphones, Android Police reports. Samsung users have taken to social media to bemoan the practice, which has seen has seen notifications from Samsung Pay, Bixby and Samsung Push Service turn up in the basket.
“Curious about the Note 10? Ask Bixby!” says one of the notifications from the Bixby app, while a Samsung Pay notification invites users to “get a close-up of the Galaxy Note 10 at AT&T.”
@SamsungMobile uh… Not really, but nice try. (forgot to disable Bixby ?) pic.twitter.com/mFdwUuqQDR
— GravX (@GravXReviews) August 9, 2019
Some owners of the Galaxy S10 range, which launched less than six months ago, for example, are seeing the notifications for the new Note 10 devices.
Related: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 vs Note 10 Plus review
Further rubbing salt into the wound, Samsung isn’t even allowing device owners to turn off the marketing notifications easily. Rather than just holding the notifications from the Bixby app to turn them off, users have to go into the settings menus to disable them.
“What the heck is this trash?” asks one irate user on Twitter. “And why cant you turn them off except by going into the Bixby settings? This is why no one wants this Bixby garbage on their phone.”
While it’s understandable Samsung sees existing users as those most likely to pick up the new phone, these users have already paid for a device. Surely have the right not to be besieged by advertisements for an even more expensive handset?
What the heck is this trash?
And why cant you turn them off except by going into the Bixby settings? This is why no one wants this Bixby garbage on their phone. pic.twitter.com/ChgvQUBmQB
— 14,23,b,i,g (@1423big) August 9, 2019
Samsung isn’t the only culprit, of course. Earlier this year Apple bent its own rules by using push notifications to promote the Apple Music service. In December last year, the company came under fire for Apple Store notifications informing users of available iPhone upgrades.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
