AI could ultimately be the catalyst for moving from Apple to Samsung
The whole landscape of phone owners is becoming divided into those who have access to on-device generative AI and those who do not. My iPhone 14 Pro and I are on the wrong side of the dividing line. My smartphone is two years behind the curve in terms of new features, with just 2 GB of RAM and a lesser neural processor. Now that the Samsung Galaxy S25 series is on its way, and the $1,300 S25 Ultra resembles an iPhone, I'm reminded of how much older device customers will miss out on, not only newfangled AI but everything else.
My employment allows me to use more of the latest phones than most individuals, but those devices are all dedicated to my job. My life and routine are dependent on my iPhone 14 Pro. Two years ago, I went from Android to the iPhone, Apple's flagship smartphone. Since then, the mobile landscape has shifted dramatically. The distinction is more noticeable in software compatibility rather than significant hardware characteristics. The iPhone 15 Pro was the first handset to be guaranteed support for AI capabilities, and now the whole iPhone 16 series should have access to Apple Intelligence. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman predicts that the majority of Apple's AI features will be available by April.
Image Playground is just one of the Apple Intelligence features exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16. © Florence Ion | Gizmodo
Apple fans will have to wait months for anticipated AI capabilities, but Samsung has already introduced on-device AI helpers with its Galaxy S25 series. The AI includes a confusing combination of on- and off-device AI functions. Like Apple, the Korean tech behemoth stated that customers' data will be kept protected on its SOC under Knox protection, while all data transported to the cloud would be end-to-end encrypted.
Samsung clearly wants the iPhone folks to contemplate the move. The Galaxy S25 range resembles iPhones, with flat, titanium sides and slanted edges. I'll admit that when I held the new smartphone with its light frame and exciting on-device AI capabilities, I was swept away. It seemed very familiar, and not only because I utilized the $1,300 Galaxy S24 Ultra for business. There was a sense of betrayal mixed with jealousy and rage. I felt like Gollum, holding the One Ring for the first time, as I gazed at passing tech reporters with wild, malicious eyes.
However, I had to remind myself that AI has yet to fulfill its promise. I just saw a brief demonstration of the Gemini-based "agentic" cross-app AI. I'll have to rely on the AI to appropriately copy my information from an email into a calendar event. Even if it works nine out of ten times, how can I genuinely trust it if the AI reverses course and disrupts my schedule? If I spend the majority of my time reviewing the AI's work, that is time I could have spent completing the task myself.
So, what am I really missing? I find the Android versus iOS discussion to be fairly nebulous, albeit Android already offers things that iOS is currently coming up to. In any event, none of those missing functions have an impact on how much I like using my phone. To focus on the thoughts of both myself and many previous-generation iPhone purchasers, the prospect of spending $1,000 on a new phone just to be left behind hurts.
Copyright Photo: Adriano Contreras/Gizmodo
It's worse because Apple is often better than others at providing software support for older devices. According to Apple, all Macs with M-series processors will include AI. That implies a four-year-old MacBook can connect and get Apple Intelligence services. It's different for phones, despite Apple's focus on the newer A16 and A17 Bionic CPUs and their AI processing capabilities. The iPhone 15 Pro has 8 gigabytes of RAM. The iPhone 14 Pro has a capacity of 6 GB. Because of the limited memory, each generation of iPhone will put me and many other iPhone customers further behind until we update.
Every phone manufacturer would prefer that we buy a new phone every year, but I don't believe in replacing my technology like a pair of clothes. And the strange thing is, we still don't know if these are characteristics we desire. Apple has previously canceled the beta for the notifications summary because generative AI is so unstable. So, why should we care? While older devices may receive new UI changes and a few additional features, Apple's main focus is on giving AI that works across several apps.
Samsung's recent Galaxy Unpacked showcases what to expect. Apple's next software update will be entirely focused on AI. We'll have to wait at least a month for the complete release of Apple Intelligence, an improved Siri beta, and more. Do we anticipate Apple's upcoming WWDC to be anything other than an AI extravaganza?
Samsung has done a better job of extending AI features to previous handsets, although the Galaxy S23 and S24 will be restricted in comparison to the S25. There's a reason Samsung equipped the S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra with 12 GB of RAM. Agentic AI is clearly memory heavy, and we have yet to see it in its full splendor on either Samsung or Apple devices.
Even if you don't care about or desire AI, you will lose. The techno-feudalism of today's Android vs. iOS dispute is exacerbated by owners' further division into AI haves and AI have-nots.