{"id":257210,"date":"2026-01-29T06:40:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T06:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/257210\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T06:40:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T06:40:12","slug":"i-dont-use-my-smartphone-the-way-companies-think-i-do-and-thats-a-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/257210\/","title":{"rendered":"I don’t use my smartphone the way companies think I do \u2014 and that’s a problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

I used to cringe watching events introducing new smartphones<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I remember the examples and thinking no one uses their device that way, and that companies were making up outlandish scenarios to justify new, fringe features.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until I started attending launches and getting in-person demos that I realized that wasn\u2019t wholly accurate.<\/p>\n

I was in a room last year getting a walk-through of some new features. I was being shown new fancy animations for a surf report on the West Coast.<\/p>\n

It was a report I\u2019d never have cared about, but on cue, another person in the room mentioned they\u2019d surfed there last weekend, and the waves were amazing.<\/p>\n

I just nodded and tried not to let on that I was in shock, but it helped me realize that, for the most part, companies don\u2019t really have our everyday use in mind when designing hardware and software, and it\u2019s worth talking about.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what deserves more focus.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\t6 smartphone design trends I wish to see blow up before 2030
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

From rollable phones to next-level repairability<\/p>\n

AI is fine on smartphones, but tone it down<\/p>\n

Not everything needs to be linked back to Gemini<\/p>\n

\"Samsung<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not going to mention the company or smartphone in my example, because it\u2019s unfair. It\u2019s also not unique to one manufacturer; they all fall into the trap in one way or another.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve noticed a separation between how I use desktop AI tools and how I use them on my smartphone.<\/p>\n

For all the fancy advancements, features like Gemini are more often than not reserved for bar trivia, asking how much an athlete makes, or who was the coach the last time the Seattle Seahawks were in the Super Bowl (Mike Holmgren, if you were wondering).<\/p>\n

But even attempts by Google and Samsung to make AI a more practical part of the user experience have fallen short.<\/p>\n

Now Brief on Galaxy AI is a mess. Samsung\u2019s tried to make improvements, and I keep going back to see if anything meaningful has changed, but it\u2019s still a glorified weather report with a list of my meetings and a random news story.<\/p>\n

I had higher hopes for Google\u2019s Daily Hub, and I still do, but its return is nowhere in sight.<\/p>\n

Google has had a better grasp of AI from the beginning, and items like Magic Cue are a step in the right direction, even if they need more polish.<\/p>\n

AI needs to take a back seat. I want it to help me in the background, instead of being thrust to the forefront.<\/p>\n

Every new phone presentation doesn\u2019t have to start with AI and how it will improve the user experience. Don\u2019t tell me, show me. And no one has done that just yet.<\/p>\n

Just once, I\u2019d love something to feel generative. Even a notice that, even though it\u2019s sunny right now, there\u2019s rain forecast for later, so bring an umbrella. I\u2019m not asking for the moon.<\/p>\n

Battery life and charging speeds are essential<\/p>\n

25W and a lack of silicon-carbon isn\u2019t cutting it anymore<\/p>\n

\"OnePlus<\/p>\n

Using the OnePlus 15<\/a> and 15R has spoiled me. Never again can I look at smartphone battery life the same way. <\/p>\n

Getting flagship-tier performance and nearly three days of use on a single charge is outstanding, and having 80W wired and 50W wireless charging is impressive.<\/p>\n

I rarely even bothered to check how much battery I had left, and that\u2019s after hours of turn-by-turn navigation and streaming live sporting events.<\/p>\n

If Samsung and Google really want to get my attention in 2026, then stop relying on chipset efficiency improvements to help battery life.<\/p>\n

I want larger, silicon-carbon battery cells with speedy charging rates.<\/p>\n

Rumors suggest Samsung is finally getting to 60W for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and that\u2019s a welcome change. But more work has to be done.<\/p>\n

It would be fantastic if Google could join in at least a little. Battery life has been solid on my Pixel 10 Pro XL, but it\u2019s nothing compared to what I get on the OnePlus 15.<\/p>\n

Upcoming flagships like the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Pixel 11, later this year, should better reflect our real-world usage and deliver significant battery improvements.<\/p>\n

Good enough shouldn\u2019t be the standard anymore.<\/p>\n

Software is finally moving in the right direction<\/p>\n

Material 3 Expressive gives me hope<\/p>\n

\"Material<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been dissatisfied with smartphone software for a while, but Material 3 Expressive helped turn the corner. It\u2019s playful, intuitive, and fun \u2014 precisely what Android software was missing.<\/p>\n

Samsung\u2019s also done wonders with One UI 8, and I want that trend to continue.<\/p>\n

It seems a little too easy for companies to slap AI into their presentations and call it a day.<\/p>\n

I still don\u2019t understand how Galaxy AI is meant to improve my Galaxy Z Fold 7<\/a> experience, but it was part of the sales pitch. <\/p>\n

I don\u2019t need generative surf reports on my home screen. I\u2019d settle for more features like AirDrop compatibility on the Pixel 10 series and Magic Cue doing more.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to be the smaller changes that add up to a revamped user experience on Android software moving forward.<\/p>\n

Material 3 Expressive<\/a> is the best yet, but I\u2019m hopeful other manufacturers are working to help us use our phones better, not just how they think we should. <\/p>\n

Daily use often strays far from what companies focus on<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t remember the last time I felt a new feature was so good that it changed how I use my smartphone.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re long overdue, and while AI has plenty of promise, the reality has fallen short of expectations.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time for manufacturers to get back to basics and start by recognizing how most people use their smartphones, which would go a long way in fixing the problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I used to cringe watching events introducing new smartphones. I remember the examples and thinking no one uses…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[342,111,139,69,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-257210","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}