Samsung Will Open Its Own Mini Stores Within More Than 1,400 Best Buy Locations

Samsung announced today that it's launching its own mini stores within more than 1,400 Best Buy locations by this summer.

The new Samsung Experience stores are very similar to the mini Apple Stores that are already at several Best Buy locations. They'll be staffed by trained Samsung employees to help you learn how to use your Samsung phone or tablet or perform software updates.

Best Buy employees will also be on site and let you purchase and activate your Samsung mobile phones without having to leave the Experience store.

However, Samsung Experience employees won't be able to help you with broken hardware like cracked screens and other issues. You'll have to rely on your regular Samsung warranty or an extended warranty purchased from Best Buy or another third-party for that kind of stuff. Samsung said it's still exploring options to offer hardware repairs.

The new Samsung stores are yet another page out of Apple's playbook. One of the biggest advantages to owning an iPhone over anything else is that you get free support for your device at any Apple Store. By plugging into 1,400 Best Buy locations, Samsung will be able to offer a similar advantage to its customers.

One of the first Samsung Experience stores will open on April 17 at the Union Square Best Buy in New York. The rollout should be finished by the end of June.