Raise your hand if this sounds like your morning routine: wake up, roll over and yawn, and pick up your phone to check the day’s weather. You’re not alone — studies point to the possibility that a phone’s default weather app is the most common way people check the weather nowadays.
And now, for anyone with a new Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphone, that information will be powered by the best-in-class, hyperlocal weather data from Atlanta-based The Weather Company (owned by IBM). The Weather Company will provide the data backbone for these phones’ native weather app.
The deal, which is an extension of an existing partnership, is major for the weather technology and data conglomerate, especially as more and more people get their weather exclusively on their smartphones. Despite the millions of apps available in the app store, weather apps still hold a comparatively large share of the user’s time. In fact, checking the weather may even be the top reason that smartphone users unlock their phones.
“We’ve enjoyed a good relationship with Samsung for a number of years, and it has always been our aspiration to be the native weather provider on Samsung devices, because that puts our weather forecast in the hands of hundreds of millions of people around the world,” says Weather Company CEO and general manager Cameron Clayton.
“We have a huge mobile audience in the U.S., but being on Samsung smartphones helps to significantly accelerate our global footprint.”
Samsung is among the top smartphone providers in the world, seeing a razor thin difference in market share dominance with Apple. The Weather Company maintains the world’s largest network of personal weather stations and has stated a goal of reaching a billion users. This partnership will expand the reach of their potentially-lifesaving weather information by hundreds of millions.
The partnership extends beyond the native app on these devices as well — The Weather Channel App will also be specially promoted across all Samsung devices in the Galaxy App Store.
“Collaborating in this way will also bring new opportunities to connect with users and expand our growing IoT business,” Clayton said in a press release.
