If you've bought an Android phone in the past year, you've likely noticed that it's packed with AI features. Maybe you knew about them before you hit purchase, maybe you assumed (safely as it turns out) that there would be some kind of AI on your new phone, or maybe they took you totally by surprise.
If you bought a Samsung Galaxy S25, for example, you'll have had Gemini, Circle to Search, Bixby and Galaxy AI at your fingertips -- all before you even thought about downloading the ChatGPT app. It reminds me of the early days of Android, when phone-makers tried to load devices with their own apps, services and overwrought UIs in the name of differentiation. Which sparks the question: Is AI the new Android bloatware?
It's easy to understand why Android phone-makers have latched onto the idea that AI might be a useful tool to set them apart from rivals. After all, most flagship Android phones share the same DNA: a high-end processor (usually the top Snapdragon chip from Qualcomm), the latest Android software, a competitive camera system and a battery that will last for a day or more. The truth is that we're often splitting hairs when trying to recommend one over another.
When generative AI arrived on the scene, offering the potential to bring new experiences to mobile devices, Android phone-makers were keen to tap into those possibilities. Here was a new opportunity to differentiate themselves, and give people a fresh reason to choose them over a competitor. (And over the iPhone, as Apple slow-walks Apple Intelligence into being.)
In reality, it's not quite playing out that way -- and for a few different reasons. First, research conducted by CNET and supported by the findings of independent industry analysts consistently shows us that people aren't upgrading their phones due to the availability of AI features. Instead, the things they care about, in order of importance are price, longer battery life, storage, cameras. In other words, the same exact things they've prioritized for years when choosing a new phone.
The second issue is that in spite of some manufacturers' best efforts, AI isn't the differentiator they thought it would be. At the heart of this problem is that there's barely an Android phone hitting the market right now that doesn't already have the most cutting-edge tech built into it thanks to Google Gemini. Every Android phone-maker has its own flavor of AI, but more often than not, this means a bunch of gimmicky features added onto the existing software in a haphazard fashion, creating something of a Frankenstein effect.
Early-mover advantage: Galaxy AI
Of all the Android phone-makers trying to make their own AI brand stick in our minds, it's perhaps Samsung that's in with the best chance. Compared to rivals, it was relatively early to jump onto the AI bandwagon, launching Galaxy AI in January 2024, giving it a strategic headstart that it's built on ever since.
Last week it followed the launch of its latest foldables with an AI forum, during which it revealed that 70% of Galaxy S25 owners were using Galaxy AI features. More than half, it added, were using Circle to Search. This year it will bring Galaxy AI to more than 400 million devices.
Android's Circle to Search feature originally launched on Samsung Galaxy S24 and Pixel 8 phones in January 2024. Samsung/Screenshot by CNET
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