This year has been a really big year for AI on phones. Whether it’s Galaxy AI, Apple Intelligence, Gemini’s multitude of upgrades, or something else entirely, it feels like not a day goes by without an executive from A phone company is singing the praises of AI and what it can do.
It’s not like this trend came out of nowhere either. Google has been promoting AI and machine learning for several years now, and ChatGPT started and launched the AI debate into the mainstream more than two years ago. It was only a matter of time before AI became more or less ubiquitous on phones.
As it happens, this year was also the year I confirmed that I don’t care whether or not my personal phone has AI.
The precursors of AI never interested me either
It’s not like my attitude came out of nowhere. I have long avoided many similar features on my phone. I’m not talking about AI features that work automatically behind the scenes, like photo processing algorithms or other types of machine learning. I mean virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant. The best way I’ve used these tools is to set a timer when I’m cooking and my hands are busy.
There is a big difference in the features offered by AI chatbots and virtual assistants. But it’s never been what they can do that has put me off, it’s the fact that I generally prefer to do these tasks myself. Whether you’re asking for information or controlling one of your phone’s functions, it doesn’t take much longer to do the job yourself, even if it means having to unlock your phone first.
An argument could be made for getting things done when your phone isn’t in your hand or your hands are full. But since I’m usually glued to my phone, it’s rare that I can’t grab it and unlock the screen in less than a second. As for the times when that’s not possible, I tend to just…wait. It usually doesn’t take too long to get hands-free, and I’m not so addicted to my phone that I can’t hold it for a few minutes.
At this point, I’m so used to using my phone the way it was originally designed, that I have no real interest in changing. Douglas Adams once claimed that 35 years marks a turning point when we begin to consider new technologies as “contrary to the natural order of things”. Since I’m only 33, it seems like I’m a few years past that milestone. I wonder what will happen once I reach my 35th birthday and how much grumpier I will become.
Even when it comes to finding information on topics I don’t understand, I still prefer to use traditional search engines to find the resources I need. No need to ask ChatGPT or Gemini for information and summaries. Initially this was due to a lack of trust and a desire not to fall for accidental misinformation, but even as these bots have improved, my apathy towards their use has remained quite steadfast.
AI doesn’t offer anything I want
There are many reasons why I struggle to get excited about AI on my phone. Part of this is certainly because phone makers are constantly bombarding us with so many new features that it becomes impossible to keep up with everything.
My regular day-to-day phone is the Pixel 9 Pro, which packs so much AI that I couldn’t even list half of it off the top of my head – and that’s before you factor in the free year of Gemini. Advance. I’ve used this subscription once so far, and that was just to make sure it actually worked.
Can I learn to memorize all the features? Sure, but so far I haven’t really been given any reason to care. Among all the features offered on Android phones, the only active AI-centric feature that I’m very interested in is the photo editing software. Magic Editor, Photo Unblur, etc. But this interest is still not very high, and it is certainly not enough to push me to actively use these features on a regular basis. To be completely honest, I usually forget they’re there until something else jogs my memory.
I don’t seem to be alone here either. Recently I heard about an investigation which surveyed iPhone and Samsung users on the merits of AI. 73% of iPhone users and 87% of Samsung users said that AI does not add much value to their smartphone experience. The survey asked a lot of questions related to AI and users’ personal feelings about the technology, and overall it doesn’t seem like people are really interested in it.
73% of iPhone users and 87% of Samsung users said that AI does not add much value to their smartphone experience.
Sellcell survey
Then again, apparently 47.6% of iPhone users surveyed said AI was a “very” or “somewhat” important factor when purchasing a new phone, compared to 23.7% of iPhone owners. Samsung. However, only 16.8% of iPhone owners would switch to Samsung for better AI. So it’s clear that some of them care about AI, but not enough to override their brand loyalty.
Even though tech and phone companies publicly express the wonders of AI for user experience, I just don’t feel like it’s authentic. Frankly, this all seems more like a cynical exercise in appeasing shareholders who are caught up in AI as the latest craze or gimmick – with a focus on stock prices rather than what will actually work for the consumer .
I don’t know about everyone, but for me it’s reflected in the fact that phone companies haven’t offered a sufficient reason to care about their AI features. I’ve never had a problem writing emails or text messages, so I don’t need a machine to give me advice or rewrites. Likewise, I don’t get enough notifications to warrant needing to see a summary. Just like any email I receive, I can usually tell at a glance whether it will be worth my time or not and act accordingly.
The AI system may remove some intermediate steps, but for the most part it won’t save me any time or effort in the process. So why bother?
Conclusion
Let me be very clear here. I’m not saying phones shouldn’t have AI. All I’m saying is that what is currently proposed does not capture My attention. It’s just not very interesting to me, and certainly not the kind of thing that would change the way I buy phones. There are many reasons why I opted for the Pixel 9 Pro as my personal phone right now, but Gemini AI isn’t one of them.
The good news is that while AI capabilities take center stage, telcos aren’t neglecting everything else to get there. Generally speaking, phones are getting more powerful, lasting longer on a single charge, and improving the photos they take, among other things.
And of course, I can understand the irony that AI was used to facilitate this process. I can get there pretty easily, but that doesn’t mean I have to like every AI feature that feels like it’s thrown into a phone for the sake of it.
