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

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

Nevertheless, I work at Android Authority, so I’m continuously utilizing telephones from different corporations. Though there are outliers, I discover that each cellphone has at the least one factor about it that I want my cellphone 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. Reasonably, it’s due to One UI. Whereas I 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 person, 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 cherished 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 person expertise. Actually, if something, it makes the person expertise worse because it nearly actually makes use of barely extra battery energy than a typical darkish display screen would.

Nevertheless a lot my pragmatic mind would like to reject wallpapers on AODs primarily based 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 screen with some textual content, it could make it all of the extra interesting.

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

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

Having the ability to customise the AOD wallpaper on a Pixel can be nice, however Google can be missing in relation to customizing the lock display screen. As soon as Apple began permitting sturdy customization of the iPhone lock display screen, Samsung shortly adopted swimsuit.

Nowadays, a Samsung lock display screen can have custom-made 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 assist for all the colours of the rainbow. Altering the app shortcuts that seem within the two decrease corners of the lock display screen to something you need can be a terrific perk.

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

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

I’ll readily admit that I in all probability wouldn’t use DeX lots 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 during which 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 every day driver doesn’t permit me to even take into consideration alternate 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 discovered a greater system utilizing my cellphone.

Both means, 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 could be to make use of a gaming cellphone just like the ASUS ROG Cellphone 9 Professional as a desktop-like emulation station on the go.

Once I journey with my companion, we wish to cross the journey time by watching motion pictures and TV reveals 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 assist 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 assist twin Bluetooth connectivity. If I had a Samsung cellphone as an alternative, each my companion and I may join our headphones to my cellphone and luxuriate in no matter content material we would like collectively.

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

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 features by voice instructions in your cellphone, good speaker, smartwatch, and many others. These automations may also contain smartphone features, reminiscent of sending a textual content, turning your cellphone into Do Not Disturb mode, and extra.

Regardless of Google pushing this difficult, Assistant routines had been by no means actually smartphone-centric. They had been largely targeted on good dwelling features with smartphone automations as a pleasant additional. Samsung’s Routines operate, although, is the alternative: it’s largely in regards to the cellphone and in addition occurs to contain some good dwelling stuff.

Samsung’s Routines characteristic means that you can create If-And-Then-style formulation on your cellphone. For instance, you possibly can design a routine that turns your cellphone’s show all the way in which down, units it into silent mode, and turns off all of your family lights everytime you drop the cellphone onto a selected wi-fi charging pad from the hours of 9:00 PM to 12:00 AM. You may additionally make it so your cellphone mechanically texts your spouse that you just’re in your means dwelling everytime you get into your automobile in your work 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 had 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 by way of smartphone automation.

Double-tapping the ability button mechanically opens the digicam on most Android telephones, together with Pixels. It’s a terrific shortcut because it means that you can have your cellphone 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 necessary photographs earlier than the second passes.

As nice as that is, there are numerous the explanation why you may 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’ll be able to have it set off certainly one of your Routines, activate the flashlight, begin a voice recording, or launch actually any app you need. With Pixel UI, although, you’re trapped. Until 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 difficult than it must be. I additionally perceive that most individuals on the market, even when given the chance, would depart the double-tap shortcut as a digicam launcher (I do know I might). Nonetheless, the concept I may do one thing completely different is a lot 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 state of affairs, I’d in all probability find it irresistible if double-tapping the ability button did one thing else on my secondary cellphone.

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

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

When you consider it, it is smart why that is so in style. When you want convincing, go away your cellphone flat on a desk, face up. Unlock it after which navigate across the UI a bit. While you’re able to lock it once more, what are you able to do? On a Samsung cellphone, you simply double-tap on your own home display screen (I like to make use of the standing bar space for this), and your cellphone locks. On a Pixel, although, you should hit the ability button. This isn’t practically so simple as the double-tap and might be awkward when you can’t use your left hand for some cause.

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

I’ve saved the perfect for final. For anybody on the market who doesn’t know, Good Lock is an official “retailer,” in a means, that helps highly effective customizations for Galaxy telephones. Usually, if there’s something you may consider that your Galaxy cellphone 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 wish to do 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 often simply as tech-savvy as Samsung customers, so that they’d be capable of deal with a Good Lock-esque system. Apart from, Good Lock isn’t a factor that comes normal 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 cellphone with out it. That stops Galaxy followers from switching over to Pixels, which Google mustn’t ignore.

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