Samsung's Pre-Installed Apps Limit Available Storage, Says Complaint

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G smartphone buyers have 21% less storage than product marketing and labels promise, requiring consumers to buy a new phone to accommodate the number of videos, photos, apps and music they use, said a Sunday class action (docket 1:23-cv-00168) in U.S. District Court for Southern New York in Manhattan. Plaintiff Tiffany McDougall of Holmes, Pennsylvania, noted fine print within the phone’s technical terms say 101.4 GB of memory are available to users out of the advertised 128 GB capacity. The remaining 26.6 GB are occupied by Samsung’s operating system, plus pre-installed apps such as DirecTV; Samsung Notes, Health, Pass and Visit; and Smart Limits. The pre-installed apps -- which aren't essential to the operation of the device -- can be disabled but not removed to free up storage space, said the complaint. Since the phone is sold without the ability to add local storage via a memory card, “the only option is to purchase a new phone” with more storage, said the plaintiff. The disclosures about available memory and existing content “are not conspicuous to purchasers at the point of sale,” said the complaint. The plaintiff paid more for the phone than she would have if she knew she wasn't receiving 128 GB of usable storage space, said the complaint. Samsung sold more phones at higher prices than it would have “in the absence of this misconduct, resulting in additional profits at the expense of consumers,” it said. The plaintiffs claim Samsung violated the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law and New York General Business Law, and also charge the phone maker with breach of warranty, negligent misrepresentation, fraud and unjust enrichment. They seek monetary, statutory and punitive damages, plus costs and fees. Samsung didn't comment Tuesday.