I used to be a bit judgmental of people just going from one iPhone to the next. Even though I’m an Android user, now I get it. My current phone is a Galaxy one, and chances are my next one will be, too.
My Current Phone Does Everything I Want
For much of the past two decades, I’ve looked at the phone in my hands and wished there was something different about it. Often, the interface felt a bit too inconsistent. For a while, I didn’t have apps that could do what I needed. I’ve never been much of a fan of the default home launchers. Ultimately, while a smartphone could do a lot, there were still hard and fast limits to what it could do.
That changed with my purchase of a Galaxy Z Fold 5, which I’ve since replaced with the even more ideal Z Fold 6. More than any other device I’ve ever owned, phone or otherwise, this is the complete package. I love so much about this phone, from its aspect ratio to its proportions, both folded and unfolded, to its symmetrical and minimalist aesthetic. It has become my favorite way to digest comics and magazines. There’s something fun about reading ebooks on a book-shaped device.
I now prefer to play some games on a foldable phone, and I’ve been blown away by all that I can do with a stylus. I can go on, and I will, but my key point is this—I’m no longer on the market searching for my ideal phone or ideal software. I’ve found them both.
No Other Phone Offers Quite What Samsung Does
The Galaxy Z Fold series is no longer the only book-style foldable on the market. There’s the Pixel 9 Pro Fold from Google and the well-received OnePlus Open. Neither of these are viable options for me.
My primary deal-breaker is the lack of a desktop mode. Samsung DeX is what made me consider a Samsung phone in the first place, and it has since replaced my PC. I now dock my phone to a monitor, AR glasses, or lapdock whenever I need a full-blown desktop. If I switch to a different brand of foldable, I’d also have to purchase a PC and completely change my current work (and gaming) patterns.
Both phones also lack a stylus (the OnePlus Open technically supports one, but you need to have to get your hands on an Oppo pen). I have come to love using a pen with my phone. I attended a local event just a few days ago where I wanted to take notes, and it’s freeing not having to bring along a bag with a notebook. There’s something socially different about writing on the phone with a stylus that very clearly signals I’m taking notes rather than texting.
Likewise, Samsung provides apps that are so feature-rich I think they rival some desktop software. I’m able to do much of my work using Samsung Internet, Samsung Notes, Samsung My Files, Samsung Gallery, Samsung Calendar, Samsung Reminder, and Samsung Music. I prefer each and every one of these apps over their Google alternatives, and since most other Android phones now ship primarily Google apps, that means there isn’t much alternative first-party software for me to seek out elsewhere.
Samsung also offers the most configurable phones. This has practical benefits for me, like how much more quickly I can switch between recent apps or open two side-by-side using my own custom gestures. I can take a screenshot by swiping diagonally up and to the left—something I need to do often. More often than not, if there’s something I want my phone to do, whereas it might be impossible or require an elaborate hack on another Android phone, on Samsung, I merely have to dig up the right setting.
I Get What’s So Great About Ecosystems Now
I didn’t seek to buy a bunch of Samsung products. It just kind of happened. When we were building our new home, family members found us a Samsung fridge. We were offered a Samsung Frame TV for free (fortunate, I know). I did, however, actively choose to buy a Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Buds FE to go with my phone.
I thought it was impressive opening up my buds and having my phone automatically detect them. But that’s not all that big a deal. Using any pair of earbuds with a phone is a pretty painless affair these days. But when my TV automatically detected my buds and asked if I wanted to play sound through them, I was impressed.
My phone also integrates with my TV. Some of the features are available to any phone via the SmartThings app. Others are specific to Galaxy phones, like the ability to mirror the screen by tapping my phone against the corner. I now regularly cast YouTube videos from my phone this way so that I don’t have to sign into the YouTube app on the TV. I then switch the sound over to my buds to watch in private. When I’m done, the earbuds go back to playing audio from my phone.
Like Apple users, I get the beauty of an ecosystem now. Frankly, Samsung’s ecosystem is as good as Apple’s, and it’s less restrictive. You don’t have to be prevented from going elsewhere to appreciate the nice touches you get when hardware comes from the same company.
I Have More to Lose Than Gain By Switching
I follow the latest Pixel releases. I know the capabilities of the newest OnePlus phone. I even keep tabs on the iPhone, even though I’ve never owned own. When I look at all of them, I don’t quite see what I have to gain.
In the case of the Pixels, I don’t want all the Google software and AI features, but that stuff is largely already available for my existing phone anyway. My biggest temptation is the ease of installing custom ROMs, but that’s something I’m drawn to less and less, especially since discovering how Samsung’s Good Lock lets me configure far more than LineageOS does.
I like the camera hardware OnePlus offers, and the fast wired charging is enticing. The biggest feature I want comes from the OnePlus Open, and that’s OpenCanvas. This approach to multitasking is amazing. But like an iPhone user, what I really want is for Samsung to bring this feature to Galaxy phones. I’m not willing to give up all that I like about my phone for this one thing.
As for iPhones, the app ecosystem is the biggest draw. I particularly envy their exclusive mobile games.
Yet, to switch to any of these phones, I have to give up my desktop mode. I love Samsung’s excellent first-party apps. I love all of the foldable-specific features that Samsung still does better than everyone else. I lose the ability to configure just about anything in system settings and the freedom to customize everything else using Good Lock. I love my S Pen and its integration with my other Samsung hardware. I take comfort in knowing I can get my phone fixed at numerous local repair shops.
That feels a lot to lose for a slightly better camera, faster charging, and a different way to juggle my open apps. Competing Android phones also tend to be a tad less powerful (or substantially so, in the case of the Pixel).
Samsung Still Does Enough to Excite Me
Like iPhone owners, I’m most likely to trade in my phone if I see another company do something particularly exciting or, on the flip side, Samsung starts to bore me. I’m only a year into owning a Samsung phone, and right now, that day feels a long way off.
I like the changes I see coming in the One UI 7 update when it eventually rolls out to my device. As someone who owns a pair of Xreal glasses and has tried out an Xreal Beam Pro, I’m intrigued to see that Samsung’s Project Moohan XR headset looks like an evolution of that vision.
DeX has been relatively stagnant, though. I imagine if Samsung doesn’t add any of the improvements I’d like to see in the next few years, I’d probably feel a bit less bullish about it. But if a desktop mode does eventually get baked directly into Android, that won’t be such a big deal either.
As I look out over the landscape, smartphones are becoming simpler. I don’t see another company here in the US empowering us to push our phones as hard as we possibly can. Until they do, I’ll likely stick with Samsung. If the Z Fold series remains the most versatile foldable on the market in a few years, chances are I’ll just upgrade. Though by that point, I might go for a Samsung tri-fold instead.
