Samsung launched its Milk service to be one which offered a range of content to its device owners. However, it seems recently the Milk ecosystem is one which has hit more than its fair share of hurdles. The first of the casualties became clear back in September of last year when Samsung confirmed that it was closing down its Milk Video section. A close which did come to an end back on November 20. Leaving mainly the Milk Music and Milk VR departments still going strong.
However, over the last couple of weeks rumors have started to surface that Milk Music is also going to be closed down soon as well. At first, it was thought maybe this was happening as a means to pave the way for Samsung to acquire Tidal, another rumor that has surfaced recently. Although Samsung dismissed this rumor as one which is “not true” without really commenting on the Milk Music aspect. Which in itself has added to the belief that Samsung may close the music side of Milk. Now it is starting to emerge that the VR side of the Milk ecosystem also seems to be seeing its own troubles.
Today a report out of Re/Code notes that Samsung’s VP of Creative Content & Strategy for Milk VR, Matt Apfel, has now left the business. While there is no official confirmation from Samsung on this, it has been reported that Samsung has reached out confirming Apfel’s leaving and also reiterating their commitment to the Milk platform in general. However, it is being thought that Milk VR, like Milk Music, as well as the reason for the closure of Milk Video, is that these entities have not gained the number of users that Samsung had initially hoped for. While this might be somewhat understandable for the likes of Milk Music and Video, due to the competition already on the market, it would have been thought that the VR side of Samsung’s Milk platform would be going strong. After all, they are one of the companies who has heavily invested in virtual reality on both the hardware and software side of things. Although, the departure of Apfel is likely going to fuel the belief that Samsung’s Milk platform as a whole is facing troubles.