beyond the alphabet
Beyond the Alphabet is a weekly column focusing on the world of tech in and around Mountain View.
As someone who once completely avoided Samsung phones at all costs, I find it absolutely crazy to see this shift. While I still get a sense of cringe whenever I think about the TouchWiz era, Samsung has managed to completely turn its software around, especially when it comes to updates.
In late March, Samsung began rolling out One UI 6.1, which included multiple bug fixes.Instead, this is this Install the update for those using 2023 flagships such as the Galaxy S23 or Galaxy Z Fold 5. That’s because Samsung is bringing many of the AI features introduced with the Galaxy S24 Ultra to these older devices, and rumors suggest they might even appear on the Galaxy S22 series.
But that’s not what surprised me most about this launch. In fact, every device on the list got the update around the same time. After seeing this news, I picked up my Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Tab S9 Ultra, checked for updates, and then sat back and let both devices download and install their respective updates.
Not to mention that the Galaxy S24 got a separate update at the same time that just focused on camera improvements, and Samsung’s smartwatches also got updates, with the Galaxy Watch 5 series getting some improvements.
This is the dream we’ve been hoping to see from Google, Samsung, and other OEMs. Whenever Apple releases a new update, most of the time, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch get it at the same time. However, we’ve been dealing with staggered update releases on the best Android phones for years.
This undoubtedly makes people believe that Samsung is transforming into the Apple of Android. Updates all come together, new features keep arriving in one form or fashion, and the company is working hard to provide a cohesive ecosystem. All the while, Google still seems to be somewhat behind our expectations.
That’s not to say Google’s updates are bad. Of course, without Google, Samsung’s operating system would probably look a lot different than it does now. After all, One UI is “just a skin on top of the underlying Android platform.” When Google adds new APIs or features to Android (even before Google does), this obviously allows Samsung to focus on improving One UI and implementing new APIs or features.
I can’t help but feel that Google is losing its grip a little bit, even as the company’s mobile phone division continues to grow. The only proof you need is to see what happened to the Gemini Nano. Google executives said during the initial presentation that the Gemini Nano-powered AI capabilities would be limited to the Pixel 8 Pro. Many people (myself included) are wondering why the Pixel 8 won’t get any of these features, even though the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro essentially share the same underlying hardware.
At the time, Google explained this was due to “hardware limitations.” But again, this doesn’t make any sense considering the hardware shared between the two devices. Lo and behold, Google finally revealed the Gemini Nano will Coming to Pixel 8, despite “being a developer option for the next Pixel Feature Drop,” even so, the news was released much later. Meanwhile, the Gemini Nano has been launched on the Galaxy S24 series, including the smallest 8GB or RAM model.
Then there’s the ongoing crash of the Pixel Fold, which doesn’t see any of the Gemini Nano’s features. This is a $1,800 phone that doesn’t offer the same user experience as a phone costing $1,100 less. Until this week, Google was even bringing Circle to Search functionality to the Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet, not to mention the delays in updates to Pixel models in recent years.
If Google isn’t fully committed to giving us the same functionality on current hardware, that doesn’t exactly lend itself to confidence that Google will actually be able to deliver on its seven-year promise of software updates in any meaningful way. Putting aside the differences between Tensor and Snapdragon, I’m more confident in Samsung’s ability to follow suit than Google.
While I do believe Google made the right move, I can’t help but feel that the difference between the Pixel 8 and the Galaxy S24 will be worlds apart in seven years. Maybe I’m wrong, and I hope I am, but the problems in Mountain View are becoming more and more apparent.
All of which is to say, I can’t help but feel that the software side of Google, you know, Android, feels a little broken. It’s a real shame considering how great the hardware looked, even though it didn’t really work after a few years.
At this point, it looks like Google needs another “reset year,” like we saw with the launch of the Pixel 6. The company needs to keep the hardware and software teams on a level playing field so that the ecosystem can continue to mature and grow without users encountering limitations and delays.
If Google wants to continue growing and becoming an alternative to Samsung and Apple, especially in the United States, it has to make some concessions. We’ve been dealing with fragmentation for years, but we’ve gotten to the point where we blame Google rather than the OEMs. For a company worth so much, that’s truly mind-boggling.