I ditched my Samsung foldable because Samsung ditched being Samsung

My Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 was unlike anything I’d ever used before: a fully capable PC that fit in my pocket, folded out into a tablet, and became a desktop when connected to a monitor. Unfortunately, Samsung made a series of decisions that increasingly dissuaded me from using the phone and prompted me to look for something else.

Samsung and Google are way too close

If I wanted Google Slop, I’d buy a Pixel

Credit: Samsung

I have an uncomfortable relationship with Google. I do my best to avoid ads and Google is one of the largest ad tech companies in the world. I deleted my Google account and went years without an account until work asked me for one again. I actually don’t like most Google apps. Still, I love Android.

I like Samsung hardware as an alternative to Google, but there’s less and less daylight between the two companies. At this year’s Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung actually had a real hardware innovation to show off in the form of the Galaxy 526 Ultra’s privacy screen, but most of the event was dedicated to more showcases of the same Gemini-powered AI slop we’ve seen before. Samsung and Google were proud to show off their ability to generate fake images, inserting people and animals into places they have never been, at a time when conspiracy theories are all the rage.

Sometimes this proximity produces excellent results. A user interface feels much more like Android than TouchWiz, and I’m glad both companies have opted for QuickShare as their version of Android over AirDrop. Other times, not so much.

Samsung is replacing more of its apps with Google’s

Tear Samsung messages

When I unbox a new Galaxy device, it increasingly prioritizes Google apps over Samsung ones. Samsung Messages dies in favor of Google Messages, an app I don’t like and only use because it has become the only way for me to reliably participate in many group chats.

Meanwhile, Samsung is also upgrading Bixby, but Galaxy phones still default to Gemini. I also don’t see the point in Samsung continuing to market the Galaxy Store when even the company’s most specialized software, Good Look, is now also available on the Play Store.

Samsung wants Galaxy phones to be AI phones

A company too big to ignore investor pressure

I only became a fan of Samsung after Galaxy phones became boring. I love Samsung’s modern design, but during this same period, Samsung has focused on the Galaxy AI, not the hardware.

I really like some of these features of the Galaxy AI. I love being able to quickly transcribe my voice recordings. It’s helpful to be able to remove dust and scratches from photos on the device without needing to reshoot them (although even this most mundane use of Object Eraser still leaves me a little squeamish). I deeply appreciate being able to write in cursive and convert it to printed text. That said, until recently, most of these features did not qualify as AI.

Samsung is primarily a hardware company. I’d like to see the company play to its strengths rather than leaning into areas where it’s massively dependent on Google.

There are plenty of non-AI features I’d like to see Samsung work on

Legacy functionality that is largely ignored

Credit: Bertel King / How-To Geek

Foldable phones suffer from a lack of foldable-specific software. I wrote early on about how I could move apps around on my phone like on a PC, but seven inches is a bit cramped for that. Other companies have offered solutions. OpenCanvas was one of my favorite things about the OnePlus Open, and other Chinese foldables like the Oppo Find N6 all have similar multitasking solutions.

Likewise, there were times when I appreciated Flex mode, the set of features that appear when a foldable is half-folded like a laptop. This feature set has also been largely ignored. The Edge panels and the S Pen are some of the best features of Samsung phones, but the company doesn’t brag about them. All the money must be found in talking about AI.

Other companies are doing more interesting things

In the United States, a few companies sell phones large enough to do what Samsung does: modify Android with a distinct interface and apps. Instead, I look for companies that are small enough that their business model is simply to sell me a good phone.

I bought a Murena Fairphone 6, a serviceable, privacy-friendly phone whose philosophy better matches mine. I reviewed the Unihertz Titan 2 Elite, a QWERTY keypad phone that’s a night-and-day makeover of last year’s model, showing that Unihertz has clearly listened to customer feedback. I’m even looking at the Bigme Hibreak Pro Color, a color E Ink smartphone from a company that specializes in E Ink devices. The software is a mess of bugs, and there’s more pre-installed AI bloat than I’d like to see, but I appreciate a company that has found a way to provide a niche audience with better hardware specs than we E Ink fans typically get.

Big tech can do what big tech does. There are other brands that don’t make the same mistakes.

Display

6.31-inch P-OLED LTPO display

RAM

8 GB

Powered by the /e/OS operating system, the Murena Fairphone (Gen. 6) protects your data at all times, while protecting the planet. Made with 50% fair trade and recycled materials, under fair conditions and with one of the lowest carbon footprints on the market.