As a Pixel consumer, I am jealous of those 8 issues

I’ve been a loyal Pixel consumer for a while now. Presently, I’m rocking a Google Pixel 9 Professional, and I’ve beloved each minute with it. Though there are different cool telephones on the best way in 2025 (to not point out many different terrific Android telephones accessible immediately), I wouldn’t be shocked if my subsequent telephone is a Pixel 10 Professional. What can I say: I’m nothing if not constant.

Nevertheless, I work at Android Authority, so I’m continually utilizing telephones from different firms. Though there are outliers, I discover that each telephone has no less than one factor about it that I want my telephone had. One latest instance is with the OnePlus 13 — I might love to have a 6,000mAh silicon-carbon battery in my Pixel 9 Professional. Heck, I’d even take a 5,000mAh variant.

General, although, I are usually most jealous of Samsung telephones. However this isn’t due to {hardware} — Samsung has been fairly stingy with {hardware} upgrades over the previous few years. Slightly, it’s due to One UI. Whereas I really like Google’s stock-like tackle Android in Pixel UI, Samsung’s One UI merely gives a lot extra.

With that in thoughts, listed below are the eight issues I, a Pixel consumer, get jealous about every time I decide up a Samsung flagship.

With the introduction of One UI 6.1 on the Galaxy S24 sequence, Samsung launched a characteristic I’ve beloved ever since: an always-on show (AOD) that helps wallpapers. It’s a easy factor that doesn’t change a lot in regards to the consumer expertise. In reality, if something, it makes the consumer expertise worse because it virtually actually makes use of barely extra battery energy than a typical darkish display would.

Nevertheless a lot my pragmatic mind would like to reject wallpapers on AODs based mostly on that alone, the opposite half of my mind loves them. Most of my day, my Pixel 9 Professional sits face-up on my desk whereas I work. If I may have a cool wallpaper seem there as an alternative of a black display with some textual content, it will make it all of the extra interesting.

The wild factor is that each one this characteristic requires is an LTPO display that may go as little as 1Hz, which my Pixel 9 Professional helps. So there’s no purpose why Google couldn’t add this to my telephone — it simply hasn’t.

I hope we’ll lastly see one thing much like this with the Pixel 10 sequence that might finally roll again to the Pixel 9 and Pixel 8 sequence (the Pixel 7 sequence doesn’t help 1Hz refresh charges). A person can dream.

With the ability to customise the AOD wallpaper on a Pixel could be nice, however Google can also be missing relating to customizing the lock display. As soon as Apple began permitting sturdy customization of the iPhone lock display, Samsung rapidly adopted go well with.

Lately, a Samsung lock display can have personalized fonts, colours, widgets, and shortcuts. Samsung provides all kinds of decisions right here, too, with over a dozen clock kinds, limitless font decisions (you may add your individual fonts), and help for all the colours of the rainbow. Altering the app shortcuts that seem within the two decrease corners of the lock display to something you need can also be a terrific perk.

To its credit score, Google additionally gives a customizable lock display — it’s simply a lot extra restricted than what Samsung gives. You may’t make the nook shortcuts no matter you need; Google limits your colour choices to solely a variety it chooses based mostly on Materials You pointers; and there’s no approach so as to add your individual fonts. I hope Google stops being so restrictive quickly.

In fact, by the point this goes steady, Samsung customers could have already been utilizing DeX for almost a decade. First launched with the Galaxy S8 sequence, DeX is a desktop mode for Android. It means that you can entry your telephone’s recordsdata, launch apps, play video games, and far more utilizing a Home windows-esque interface. All it’s essential do is join your telephone (both wired or wirelessly) to a monitor. Then join a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, and increase: your telephone is a desktop.

I’ll readily admit that I in all probability wouldn’t use DeX quite a bit if I had it. I deliver my laptop computer just about in every single place I am going, and I can’t consider a scenario wherein I’d have entry to a monitor, mouse, and keyboard however not even have my laptop computer with me. Nevertheless, not gaining access to DeX on my each day driver doesn’t enable me to even take into consideration options. Who is aware of: If I had a desktop mode on my Pixel 9 Professional, possibly I wouldn’t carry my laptop computer in every single place as a result of I might’ve found out a greater system utilizing my telephone.

Both approach, I hope Android’s native desktop mode rolls out quickly, even when I don’t find yourself utilizing it usually on my Pixel. All the Android ecosystem would profit, and I can solely think about how a lot enjoyable it will be to make use of a gaming telephone just like the ASUS ROG Telephone 9 Professional as a desktop-like emulation station on the go.

After I journey with my associate, we wish to move the journey time by watching films and TV exhibits collectively. It’s nice to have the ability to entry content material from my Plex server whereas on a aircraft, for instance, and watch it along with Bluetooth headphones.

Sadly, to do that, we are able to’t use my Pixel 9 Professional. That’s as a result of Pixels don’t help two simultaneous Bluetooth audio connections. Even on my Home windows laptop computer, this is a matter — one I get round utilizing the VoiceMeeter freeware.

Samsung customers don’t want to fret about this, although. That’s as a result of Samsung merchandise help twin Bluetooth connectivity. If I had a Samsung telephone as an alternative, each my associate and I may join our headphones to my telephone and revel in no matter content material we wish collectively.

This characteristic is hardware-dependent, so Google would wish to take a position considerably to deliver it to Pixels. Nevertheless, that is additionally a type of options that die-hard Samsung followers could be loath to surrender. If Google desires these Samsung customers to leap ship, supporting two simultaneous Bluetooth connections actually wouldn’t harm.

Again when Google was wholly invested in Google Assistant (earlier than Gemini took its place on the totem pole), the corporate was actually into selling Assistant routines (now referred to as Automations). These can help you set off a number of good dwelling capabilities via voice instructions in your telephone, good speaker, smartwatch, and many others. These automations may also contain smartphone capabilities, resembling sending a textual content, turning your telephone into Do Not Disturb mode, and extra.

Regardless of Google pushing this difficult, Assistant routines have been by no means actually smartphone-centric. They have been principally targeted on good dwelling capabilities with smartphone automations as a pleasant further. Samsung’s Routines perform, although, is the alternative: it’s principally in regards to the telephone and in addition occurs to contain some good dwelling stuff.

Samsung’s Routines characteristic means that you can create If-And-Then-style formulation in your telephone. For instance, you can design a routine that turns your telephone’s show all the best way down, units it into silent mode, and turns off all of your family lights everytime you drop the telephone onto a particular wi-fi charging pad from the hours of 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM. You can additionally make it so your telephone robotically texts your spouse that you simply’re in your approach dwelling everytime you get into your automotive in your work car parking zone. The sky is the restrict, actually, for a way helpful Routines may very well be for you.

Google was planning to launch a generative AI-powered digital assistant only for Pixels (rumored as Pixie or Pixel Sense), however it appears that evidently these plans have been modified, and Pixie was break up into Pixel Screenshots together with some Gemini additions. We don’t know if Google would ever take these Gemini integrations additional, replicate Google Assistant’s routines in Gemini, or take one other stab at good, context-aware automations. For now, although, Samsung and its Routines are the clear winners when it comes to smartphone automation.

Double-tapping the ability button robotically opens the digicam on most Android telephones, together with Pixels. It’s a terrific shortcut because it means that you can have your telephone in your pocket, attain in, seize it, and by the point it’s out of your pocket, your digicam app is open and able to go, permitting you to nab these essential pictures earlier than the second passes.

As nice as that is, there are numerous explanation why you would possibly want this shortcut did one thing else. Out of the field, One UI means that you can set this shortcut as just about something you want. You may have it set off one in all your Routines, activate the flashlight, begin a voice recording, or launch actually any app you need. With Pixel UI, although, you’re trapped. Except you put in a third-party app to get across the limitation, all you are able to do with a double-tap on the ability button is launch the digicam…or do nothing.

I perceive why Google doesn’t need this to be extra sophisticated than it must be. I additionally perceive that most individuals on the market, even when given the chance, would go away the double-tap shortcut as a digicam launcher (I do know I might). Nonetheless, the concept I may do one thing totally different is significantly better for me than being unable to. What if, for instance, I carried two Pixel telephones with me: one for enterprise and one for private use? In that situation, I’d in all probability find it irresistible if double-tapping the ability button did one thing else on my secondary telephone.

I doubt Google will change this anytime quickly, however it will be good if it did.

Talking of double-tapping issues, some of the beloved options of One UI can also be one of many easiest: double-tapping on any empty house on the house display to lock the telephone. Samsung means that you can flip this off for those who don’t need it, but when I do know something about Samsung followers, it’s that the overwhelming majority would by no means need to lose out on this small however essential characteristic.

When you consider it, it is smart why that is so in style. For those who want convincing, depart your telephone flat on a desk, face up. Unlock it after which navigate across the UI a bit. If you’re able to lock it once more, what are you able to do? On a Samsung telephone, you simply double-tap on your property display (I like to make use of the standing bar space for this), and your telephone locks. On a Pixel, although, it’s essential hit the ability button. This isn’t almost so simple as the double-tap and will be awkward for those who can’t use your left hand for some purpose.

Whereas not permitting customers to regulate what double-tapping the ability button does is considerably comprehensible, it makes little sense as to why Google doesn’t help this. Even when most Pixel customers didn’t use it, it’s a type of issues that Samsung customers wouldn’t need to quit. Google enabling this on Pixels would, if nothing else, assist Samsung customers be extra comfy leaping into the Pixel ecosystem.

I’ve saved the very best for final. For anybody on the market who doesn’t know, Good Lock is an official “retailer,” in a approach, that helps highly effective customizations for Galaxy telephones. Usually, if there’s something you may consider that your Galaxy telephone doesn’t do out of the field, Good Lock in all probability has an answer.

Actually, Good Lock is a win-win for everybody. Energy customers can get what they want, and Samsung doesn’t must bloat up One UI anymore than it already does to appease the small number of customers who need to try this factor. Moreover, a big proportion of Good Lock modules are made by impartial builders, taking the burden of improvement away from Samsung.

Good Lock is so nice and so helpful that it’s completely mind-boggling that Google doesn’t have a counterpart on Pixel telephones. Pixel customers are normally simply as tech-savvy as Samsung customers, in order that they’d have the ability to deal with a Good Lock-esque system. Moreover, Good Lock isn’t a factor that comes commonplace with Galaxy telephones, however it’s very easy to get. Google may do an analogous setup to stop characteristic creep.

Samsung has an ace within the gap with Good Lock as a result of, as soon as once more, an enormous swathe of geeky Galaxy customers would by no means use a telephone with out it. That forestalls Galaxy followers from switching over to Pixels, which Google shouldn’t ignore.

These are the eight issues I’m most jealous of concerning Samsung telephones. Are you a Pixel consumer? Which of those are you most jealous about? Vote within the ballot above after which inform us extra about your selection within the feedback!