Nokia Mobile’s My Phone app has ads

Nokia Mobile software strategy on Android phones heavily relies on Android One. Almost all Nokia smartphones are members of the Android One program for which Google approves all the OS modifications. Such an approach allows for good software support, less bloatware and more room to focus on enriching the user experience with some features that aren’t part of Android. Something that combines support and features is done in the “My phone” app that allows Nokia users to check their warranty, contact supports, access forums, see some device metrics, user guides or check some recommended apps.

When checking the app on our Nokia 8.3 and Nokia 2.4 review units, we noticed that the “Apps for you” bar on top also includes some sponsored results, in other words ads. Open the App highlights and go to “Staff picks” and you can also see advertised apps popping up. While I understand that My Phone is technically a free application that overall users might not so actively use, but instead check when they are need help, the exposure to these ads isn’t that big to ruin the overall user experience and on the money-making side it makes sense to monetize what you can.

On the other hand, the “My Phone” app is some sort of a first party application and I believe first party applications from smartphone markers shouldn’t have ads. The software development cost should be included in the price of product and I am aware that this is increasingly hard to do in today’s competitive market, but I’m left wondering is the revenue from ads in My Phone worth having ads on one of the two apps that are pre-loaded by Nokia Mobile on Nokia smartphones?