Samsung Chooses Dropbox over Google Cloud for Device Storage

Dropbox has scored a win in the mobile device category. Starting later this month, Samsung Electronics will begin shipping several of its mobile devices, including the new Galaxy Note 4, with Dropbox configured as the default cloud storage service.

Samsung’s mobile devices are based on Android, of course, so it’s a little surprising that Samsung has chosen Dropbox over Google Drive, making it a good win for Dropbox. Samsung and Dropbox have been partners for the last three years, which is when Dropbox was first deployed on Samsung devices.

This could have an impact on future Samsung mobile devices and Dropbox. Both Dropbox and Drive are already shipped installed on many Samsung devices, but making Dropbox the default cloud backup and storage choice is a blow to Google Drive.

How will this roll out? Samsung will enable access to Dropbox “seamlessly through core apps” on its devices. Part of that means automatically saving documents and images to Dropbox.

“Chances are you do a lot of your work during your commute or when you’re away from your desk. If you’re using a new Samsung device, you’ll be able to save documents directly to Dropbox from the default mobile docs viewer or editor with a single tap and work on them from anywhere,” wrote Dropbox’s Christine Moon in a blog post.

It’s an interesting choice, particularly since the standard Dropbox account is a fraction of the storage size of Google Drive—and Drive is pretty well integrated into Android as it is.

“Dropbox’s focus on providing users with advanced technology for the needs of their mobile lifestyle is a perfect match for Samsung’s philosophy,” wrote Injong Rhee, senior vice president of Technology Strategy in the IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung. “This is why we are embedding Dropbox on our Galaxy mobile devices so that the valuable data and content of users will always be nearby and easily accessible through their Samsung mobile device.”