Samsung’s smartphone business is obviously not even close to its best. And hence, the electronics giant is taking its rivalry with Apple to other frontiers as well. With Samsung Pay already out, the Korean giant is now taking the battle with Apple into content. It has now announced, an exclusive ‘strategic’ partnership with European media giant Axel Springer for a new, news app.
The two companies will collaborate to deliver digital media offerings exclusively for Samsung customers. In a joint press statement, the companies said that “the content will be designed to both meet and anticipate consumers’ rapidly-evolving needs in an increasingly ‘mobile-centric’ era”.
The service, as of now though, is not coming to the US, and issolely centered around Samsung’s European audience.
As a beginning, the two companies revealed an early beta version of UPDAY, an aggregated news content platform which, when fully launched next year, will be the first complete service to have been developed under the terms of the new partnership.
And yes, it is pretty much similar to Apple’s WWDC-announced ‘News’ app. What separates the two, is Apple’s deep focus on user privacy, a mention of which is absent in Samsung and Axel Springer’s joint statement.
UPDAY will offer Samsung customers access to a range of news content that combines ‘Need to Know’ information selected by a local market editorial team and ‘Want to Know’ information, an algorithm-based service tailored to customers’ individual interests.
This early beta version of UPDAY will be initially available beginning on Thursday, September 3 2015, to select Samsung customers in Germany and Poland, with a full service launch expected to rollout in both countries, as well as other European markets, in early 2016.
However, Samsung’s arrangement with Axel Springer isn’t exactly known. The most obvious which seems viable at the moment, is that Samsung is paying Axel Springer for producing content for its apps.
An Axel Springer spokeswoman told this to TechCruch, when asked about financials involved in the deal.,
We don’t give any details on financial issues. But of course, both partners are investing to develop and operate Upday.
As for the app, the early beta version of UPDAY is exclusively available to download through Samsung GALAXY Apps, Google Play (limited to Samsung devices) and Galaxy Gifts.
