Many IPhone & Samsung Galaxy Users Find AI Features Useless
Artificial intelligence took the tech industry by storm after the emergence of ChatGPT. While OpenAI was ahead of everyone when it came to chatbots, others saw the opportunity to implement AI in other ways. Google and Samsung are among the pioneers in including AI-powered features in their smartphones. Apple joined the AI-powered feature bandwagon much later with its iPhones. That said, a high percentage of iPhone and Galaxy users may consider AI useless on their phones.
SellCell, a used phone sales platform, conducted a survey among more than 2,000 users of Samsung and Apple mobile devices. The results showed that people might be giving less importance to AI than the companies think. The survey only considered owners of Galaxy S22 series onwards and iPhone 15 Pro devices onwards, as these are the models that integrate AI functions in Samsung and Apple.
AI features are useless for a large section of iPhone and Samsung Galaxy users, survey suggests
The results showed that 73% of iPhone users and 87% of Galaxy phone users do not see any significant additional value in the presence of AI-powered features on their devices. Artificial intelligence also does not seem to be a very determining factor when it comes to switching OS. 16.8% of iPhone users said they would switch to Android-powered Galaxy phones for AI features. On the other hand, only 9.7% of Galaxy phone users would consider switching to the Apple ecosystem.
Phone makers hope to start monetizing AI-powered features at some point. The Galaxy AI suite is said to be free until the end of 2025. However, there are no details yet on how much Samsung plans to charge to maintain the features. On the other hand, Apple has not publicly expressed intentions to charge for Apple Intelligence. However, analysts estimate that the Cupertino giant could charge up to $20 per month in the future.
Many would not pay to keep AI functions available
That said, the majority of users surveyed do not seem willing to pay a monthly fee for AI features on their smartphones. A resounding 86.5% and 94.5% of iPhone and Galaxy device owners, respectively, said they would not pay to keep the features. The Galaxy S25 series includes six months of Gemini Advanced, the paid tier of Google’s AI features. Perhaps Google believes that offering the best of its AI-powered suite during this period will convince users to pay the $20 monthly fee.
Interestingly, many iPhone users consider the presence of AI important when switching phones. A whopping 47.6% of Apple device owners said it is a factor to consider when upgrading to a newer model. This contrasts with the numbers of people who do not see much use for artificial intelligence in smartphones. It’s like they want the features available but then don’t actively use them.
Survey results do not reflect reality regarding interest in mobile AI
That said, the results clearly don’t reflect the bigger picture. Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly popular among smartphone users. For a long time, ChatGPT was the most downloaded free app in Apple’s App Store. The OpenAI product was dethroned this year by DeepSeek, another AI-powered chatbot. Plus, last year, the Pixel 9 series brought the “highest-ever quarterly sales” to the lineup since launch. As you probably already know, Pixel phones boast heavy AI integration.
So, the apparent user apathy towards AI doesn’t seem to be directed towards AI itself. They might just be thinking about the AI-powered features that Samsung and Apple offer exclusively. Both companies should take this as a message that they need to step up their game if they want to turn their AI suites into a key selling point—especially if they also plan to charge for them later.
