Why Samsung Galaxy Software Is Far Behind iPhone

The article is the personal opinion of technology reviewer Philip Berne at Tech Radar.

The thing I hate most about smartphones is the Settings menu. It's hard for manufacturers to organize the Settings menu, and today's phones prove it. Even the best phones have terrible Settings.

But that’s why I want to make Settings the centerpiece of my argument for why Samsung’s OneUI software is so bad and why Apple’s iOS is better. Brace yourself, because Settings is bad everywhere, but it’s especially bad on Samsung phones.

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. (Photo: Notebookcheck)

The best I can expect from the Settings menu? Nothing. Honestly. I hope I never have to use Settings. On an ideal smartphone, Settings would not exist. The AI revolution in smartphones is leading to this. Eventually, AI will take care of Settings. You tell AI what you need and it will adjust.

To that end, Samsung probably has the best Settings app on any smartphone. Bixby, Samsung’s much-maligned digital assistant, is built to manage Settings. Most of what you’d want to do with your Galaxy, and what I’ll complain about below, can be simplified by Bixby.

Hold down the Bixby button and tell your phone to “turn on Wi-Fi hotspot” or “change screen mode to Vivid,” and Bixby will do it. Bixby knows Settings better than any human. That’s part of the problem: The Galaxy’s Settings are so complex that they need AI to handle them.

Installation should be minimal

Back to my original argument: The simpler and less time consuming the installation, the better.

Settings on Galaxy are often "buried deep and hidden". (Photo: Future)

The most common settings on your phone should be just a swipe away. On my iPhone 15, I swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen and can immediately access not only screen brightness and Wi-Fi, but also quickly tap Do Not Disturb, enable Energy Saver, open the Apple TV remote, or even create a new reminder.

On the Samsung Galaxy S24, I swipe down from the top of the screen and I see six Quick Settings buttons and a bunch of notifications. To find all the Quick Settings, I have to swipe again. That's the difference between Apple and Samsung. Too many tasks require extra steps on Samsung phones.

Samsung fans will yell at me because it’s actually a single swipe to see all the Quick Settings toggles, but it’s an option that you need to enable manually. Where do you enable it? After swiping down twice, you’ll see a little ‘Customize’ pencil icon. If you tap that icon, you can enable some useful features, like seeing all your Quick Settings in one swipe.

You can also set up a hot corner to show all your Quick Settings at once, like Apple does. Good luck finding this option, of course, although it should be enabled by default. In fact, good luck finding any of these options.

Quick settings menu on Galaxy. (Photo: Sammobile)

Think about it, those options aren’t actually in the Settings app. Want to see Quick Settings buttons with just one swipe? That option isn’t anywhere in Settings. It’s only found in the little pencil menu I mentioned earlier, which is only found with a double swipe down. Suddenly, my Galaxy S24 Ultra feels more like navigating a maze than a modern smartphone.

The interface (UI) should be consistent

When it comes to the Settings app, Apple and Samsung have very different philosophies. On the iPhone, all of your Settings are in the Settings app. All of the settings for every app you use, as well as all of your phone’s basic settings, are in one place. As a result, the Settings list is long because it includes every app on your phone.

On the Galaxy S24, like all Android phones, there are Settings in separate apps. This would be fine if Settings were well organized. My Gmail settings are in Gmail and my Facebook settings are in Facebook, but all the other settings on my phone should be in the Settings app. Sadly, this is not how Samsung phones are organized, and there doesn’t seem to be any consistent arrangement.

The menu on iOS is lengthy but not difficult to get used to. (Photo: PCMag)

Sometimes the settings are in the Settings app. Sometimes they're hidden under strange little icons, like the 'pencil' example above. If you see a mysterious set of dots anywhere on your Galaxy, a series of pixels stacked on top of each other, it could be a hidden settings menu.

Worst of all, Samsung’s Settings app is a big mess. Apple’s Settings app, while long, is easy to navigate once you start digging. No matter what feature you’re looking for, you’ll be there in a step or two.

To test this, I picked 10 common reasons I use the Settings menu. Without using any advanced shortcuts, like holding down the Quick Settings button, and without simply searching for the Settings I wanted, I mapped the number of steps it took to complete my Settings goal on my iPhone 15 and Galaxy S24. The results were clear.

Function	iPhone/iOS 17	Galaxy/OneUI 6.1	Steps (iPhone/Galaxy)	The winning side
Turn on Wi-Fi hotspot	Settings > Personal Hotspot > Allow others to connect	Settings > Connections > Mobile Hotspot & Tethering > Toggle Mobile Hotspot	3/4	iPhone
Change wallpaper	Settings > Wallpaper	Settings > Wallpaper and style	2/2	Peace
Turn on battery saver	Settings: Battery > Low Power Mode	Settings > Device care > Tap "Battery" > Power saver	3/4	iPhone
Add Bluetooth device	Settings > Bluetooth	Settings > Connections > Bluetooth > Tap "Bluetooth"	2/4	iPhone
Turn on Dark mode	Settings > Display & Brightness > Select "Dark"	Settings > Display > Dark	2/2	Peace
Free up memory space	Settings > General > iPhone Storage > Recommendations	Settings > Device Care > Tap "Storage" > Review old files; "Unused apps"; "Duplicate files"; "Large files"	4/4	Peace
Check for system updates	Settings > General > Software Update	Settings > Device care > Software update	3/3	Peace
Change screen lock password	Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Change Passcode	Settings > Lock screen and Security > Screen lock type > PIN/Pattern/Etc.	3/4	iPhone
Turn off Tinder app notifications	Settings > Notifications > Tinder > Allow Notifications toggle	Settings > Notifications > App Notifications > Tinder > Allow Notifications switch	4/5	iPhone
Reset Factory Settings	Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Prepare for New iPhone / Reset / Erase All Content and Settings	Settings > General Management > Reset > Reset... all settings / mobile network settings / Wi-Fi & Bluetooth settings / accessibility settings / Factory data reset	4/4	Peace

The Galaxy was never faster than the competition. For half of these Settings, the iPhone took fewer steps than the Galaxy. For the other half, Settings took the same number of steps on each phone. Nothing was faster on the Galaxy.

Samsung may have a faster processor, more megapixels, and all the winning specs in its favor. But it can't beat Apple if it doesn't feel better to use. This is evidence that Samsung phones are more complicated to use. More steps means slower. It's time for Samsung to improve its software significantly if it wants to have the best and fastest phone around.

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