I switched to Samsung after my Pixel was stolen, here’s what I miss

My Google Pixel 7 Pro was stolen back in January after I foolishly left my bag unattended on the beach. I’m fortunate enough to have access to quite a few recent flagship Android phones, but I decided to switch to the ageing but still capable Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra as my primary device.

I opted for the Samsung handset as I haven’t actually used a Galaxy phone as my primary phone in literal years. Sure, I’ve reviewed Samsung devices in the past, most recently the Galaxy S25 FE and Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE. But I thought it would be a good idea to set the S23 Ultra up as a full daily driver — financial apps, work tools, and everything in between. So, what was it like switching from Google to Samsung? Here’s how it went.

Switching from my old Pixel to the slightly newer Samsung handset was undoubtedly made easier by the fact that One UI offers some features previously seen on Pixels. This includes call transcriptions and a recorder app with on-device transcriptions. I’m also glad call recording is broadly available on Samsung flagship phones, after Google dragged its feet in bringing this feature to Pixel phones in more countries.

I don’t care for most AI features, but Samsung’s older phone has a few more Galaxy AI features that will be familiar to Pixel owners. This includes webpage summaries, call summaries, writing tools, real-time call translation, and generative photo editing. Again, I don’t use these tools, but other Pixel owners thinking about jumping to Samsung will be glad to know there are broadly equivalent options.

There are also plenty of cool everyday features compared to my old Pixel phone. This includes Modes and Routines, the Now Brief/Now Bar, Dual Messenger, and stacked widgets. Even small features like one-time passwords for hotspots, temporary mute, and power-off verification all drive home the fact that Samsung phones still offer some unique quality-of-life features over Pixels.

I haven’t even mentioned Good Lock, Samsung’s suite of customization apps. I don’t use many of these apps, but I definitely appreciate per-app volume controls via Sound Assistant as well as Quick Tap Shutter in Camera Assistant. I really wish more OEMs offered a Good Lock equivalent, starting with Google. But Samsung admittedly needs to do a better job of bringing Good Lock apps to all markets.

What about the rest of the phone, though? I was very happy with the S23 Ultra’s performance, as it handled system navigation and demanding games just fine. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip is still pretty powerful in 2026, and it’ll be better than even the Pixel 10 series for advanced emulation.

I also have to note that I had no issues with the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s battery life. The phone typically requires a charge every 1.5 days or so, which is pretty respectable. It doesn’t hurt that the S23 Ultra is rated for 2,000 charging cycles before hitting 80% effective capacity. By contrast, Pixels are certified for 1,000 charging cycles. So it stands to reason that you’ll definitely need to replace the Pixel’s battery first.

Shifting to the cameras, I’m not a huge fan of the phone’s overall camera quality, largely due to the low-resolution 3x and 10x cameras. But I’m just happy to have a 10x telephoto camera once again. Recent flagships generally offer higher-quality 10x images, but it’s still great to have a dedicated 10x lens for video capture and when zooming past 10x.

You don’t need the Pixel’s cloud-based Video Boost feature to shoot 8K video, either. Sure, I don’t really use 8K in the first place, but I appreciate local video capabilities over cloud-based features. Toss in Single Take and good-quality daytime video capture, and the S23 Ultra gets a lot right.

Another reason why I’ve enjoyed the switch to Samsung is the pre-installed Gallery app. Google Photos is great and offers plenty of tools, but I appreciate Samsung Gallery’s built-in tools like reflection/shadow/object erasing and moire removal in particular.

As much as I’ve enjoyed the switch, One UI is far from perfect. One of my biggest issues is bloatware, as Galaxy phones include plenty of Samsung apps and some Microsoft apps. At least we don’t have frequent ads in system apps, as seen on Xiaomi handsets, but I feel like Samsung keeps getting a pass on this issue. I also appreciate Google’s Material 3 Expressive visual style, and it’s a breath of fresh air compared to One UI and several other Android skins.

Samsung offers plenty of features and largely matches Google on the AI front, but there are a few Pixel features that I really miss on the S23 Ultra. Perhaps the most notable omission in my book is Now Playing. Google’s phones can listen to your environment and use on-device AI to recognize music, displaying music track info on your lock screen. No internet connection needed. It’s possible to add this feature to other phones with a few semi-involved steps, but I still miss it on my Samsung handset.

Another Pixel feature I missed more than I expected is the recents menu, which allows you to copy text and images from an app. It’s especially useful if you encounter an app or file format that doesn’t let you copy text or images the standard way.

Remember when I said Samsung’s Dex is better than the desktop mode on Pixel phones? Well, Samsung recently rebuilt Dex on top of Android 16’s desktop mode as part of the One UI 8 upgrade, and the result is a ton of downgrades compared to the previous version of Dex. That means heavy Dex users might want to stick with One UI 7. Although this isn’t an option on newer phones that ship with One UI 8 or One UI 8.5 out of the box.

Colleague Rita El-Khoury recently hit out at the Samsung Keyboard app, saying it gave Android a bad reputation. I also had a tough time adapting to this keyboard and thought I just needed to get used to it after years of using Gboard. I also tried disabling autocorrect, as that’s long been a bugbear on various keyboards. However, I’m inclined to agree that Samsung Keyboard doesn’t hold a candle to Gboard. I’d even take the BlackBerry software keyboard over Samsung’s app, if it worked with a recent version of Android.

Otherwise, Samsung matches Google by offering seven years of OS and security updates. That’s great news, but after experiencing the speed of updates on Pixel phones, I really wish the Galaxy maker would pick up the pace.

Switching over to the camera side of things, I do have to admit that I still prefer Google over Samsung in terms of overall camera quality and consistency. Furthermore, features like Add Me, Action Pan, Best Take, and astrophotography mode are all welcome additions on Google phones. Although to be fair, Samsung does offer an astrophotography mode via the Expert Raw app, as well as its own Best Take feature.

I appreciate the Galaxy S23 Ultra’s robust build quality, but I wish it had rounded corners rather than its current squared-off design. More recent Ultra handsets (thankfully) take the rounded approach, but I won’t be surprised if I eventually get holes in my pants pockets. Finally, I hope newer Ultra phones have better loudspeakers because the S23 Ultra sounded noticeably tinnier at high volume compared to my old Pixel 7 Pro.

I initially chose to switch to a Samsung phone so I could refamiliarize myself with OneUI and the Samsung experience in general. But the switch has also made me realize that, after all this time, Galaxy phones still offer plenty to rival Pixel handsets and, in some cases, offer even more. However, I do miss Pixels for a couple of key features: the camera experience and the speed of system updates.

I have to admit that if I were spending my own money in 2026, I wouldn’t be buying a Google or Samsung phone. I’ve already discussed my disappointing experience with a Pixel phone in an unsupported market, but Samsung phones also lag behind Chinese rivals when it comes to hardware features I truly care about. This includes battery capacity and the camera experience. I’ve taken to using a vivo phone alongside my standalone camera for product photos, and Samsung phones just don’t cut it as a substitute in this regard. Furthermore, Android skins like ColorOS and OriginOS are also legitimately great software experiences in 2026.

Nevertheless, I’ll probably continue to use the Galaxy S23 Ultra as my primary device through 2026. It does most things well enough, and if it ain’t broke, why replace it?