I like Pixel phones, but these 5 features are why I stick with Samsung

On paper, Google’s Pixel phones check almost every box. They get Android updates first, take fantastic photos, have great designs, and offer some exclusive features like Add Me and the Pixel Screenshots app. Yet, if you gave me a choice, I’d take a Galaxy phone over a Pixel any day.

That’s not a knock on Pixel phones. If anything, it’s a testament to how much Galaxy phones have improved over the years. They offer several features that Google still hasn’t matched, such as more customization options, better first-party apps, powerful automation tools, and seamless integration with Windows PCs.

These are all extremely meaningful features — and things that make Galaxy phones feel more complete to me over any Pixel.

Good Lock’s customization is unmatched

The biggest appeal of Pixel phones is the software experience, and honestly, it’s perfect for anyone who prefers a clean interface. But the problem is that simplicity also means fewer customization options for things like the home screen, lock screen, and notification panel. Heck, you can’t even remove the search widget from the home screen if you want to. I know some people don’t care about that sort of thing, but it’s nice to have the choice, and that’s where Samsung is miles ahead.

One UI already offers plenty of customization options, but the whole experience goes to another level once you install Good Lock. For instance, Good Lock offers a Keys Cafe module that lets me design a keyboard from scratch with custom colors, typing sound, and even gestures.

The LockStar module is another of my favorites. It lets me customize the lock screen by changing clock style, adding widgets, rearranging shortcuts, and even decorating the always-on display (AOD) with stickers. There are similar modules for the home screen and quick settings panel. And Good Lock isn’t just about customization. It also brings a few extras like better gestures, improved one-handed mode, searchable notification history, and countless other quality-of-life tweaks.

Better apps out of the box

Galaxy phones often get criticized for coming loaded with too many apps, and to be fair, that criticism isn’t entirely wrong. My Galaxy S26 came with its own apps for browsing, note-taking, file management, and more, all alongside Google’s apps. Personally, though, I feel having more choice is better than having less. Having used Samsung phones for years, I’ve actually come to prefer many of Samsung’s apps over Google’s equivalents.

For instance, as good as Google Keep is, I like Samsung Notes better because it’s more deeply integrated into the system. I can create a note directly from the Edge Panel and even the lock screen. More importantly, it has features that make life so much easier, such as automatic formatting, note summarization, drawing assist, and even support for reading and annotating PDFs.

Samsung Gallery is another app I consistently prefer over Google Photos. It feels more like a traditional gallery app that doesn’t push cloud backups. One thing I particularly like is its search function — it works across all the photos on my phone. By comparison, Google Photos limits its search to photos backed up to the cloud. I could make similar arguments for Secure Folder, Samsung Keyboard, and even Samsung Calendar, but you get the idea.

Of course, Google offers some fantastic apps. Chrome, Gmail, Calendar, Gemini, and a few others are among the best in their respective categories. But the beauty of using a Samsung phone is that I don’t have to choose one ecosystem over the other. I can simply use the best of both worlds.

Pixel Rules are no match for Samsung Routines

Samsung’s Modes and Routines have to be the most underrated part of Galaxy phones. Personally, I rely on several routines to automate everyday tasks. For instance, I have a morning routine that triggers automatically when I dismiss the alarm. It switches my phone back to sound mode and opens Now Brief, where I can check the weather, calendar events, top news, and other important updates.

Another routine I’ve set up kicks in when the battery level drops below 50%, and I’m not at home or in the office. It automatically lowers the screen refresh rate to 60Hz, enables dark mode, turns off AOD, changes the performance profile to Light mode, and applies other tweaks to reduce unnecessary battery drain.

What I love about routines is the sheer flexibility. There are dozens of triggers and actions, so I can automate most things. Google does offer Pixel Rules, but it pales in comparison. There are only a handful of triggers and actions, which means you can’t automate nearly as much.

Galaxy phones and Windows PCs make a great pair

One area where Samsung doesn’t get much credit is how well Galaxy phones integrate with Windows PCs. For starters, Samsung offers PC versions of several of its mobile apps, including Gallery, Notes, Internet, and Smart Switch. This means I can access my notes, resume browsing sessions across devices, and manage local device backups seamlessly.

The experience gets even better when you connect your Galaxy phone through Phone Link. While Phone Link works with all Android phones, there are certain features that are exclusive to Galaxy phones, like RCS messaging support, clipboard sync between phone and PC, and Instant Hotspot, which lets your computer use your phone’s mobile data without enabling the hotspot or typing a password.

Of course, this is something that won’t matter to everyone, but if you’re like me, who works on a Windows PC all day, you’ll certainly appreciate it. Pixel phones, meanwhile, simply don’t have the same level of Windows integration.

DeX is still in a league of its own

I recently tried replacing my laptop with Samsung DeX, and that experiment made me appreciate just how good the feature really is. For those unfamiliar, DeX lets you connect your Galaxy phone to a monitor or TV and use it as a PC. It gives you a proper desktop-like interface with a taskbar, resizable app windows, keyboard shortcuts, and drag-and-drop support. You can even use your phone as a touchpad and keyboard, though pairing a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard makes the experience feel much closer to an actual desktop.

DeX lets you run all your favorite apps on the big screen and multitask as you do on a PC. Since most of my work happens inside a browser anyway, DeX works great as a laptop replacement. That also means I don’t have to carry my laptop everywhere I go.

Google offers something similar called Desktop Mode on Pixel 8 and newer models. But again, it’s nowhere near as feature-rich as Samsung DeX. For instance, Pixel Desktop Mode doesn’t work wirelessly, which means you need to carry an HDMI dongle. More importantly, the overall desktop experience isn’t as polished. To be fair, though, Pixel Desktop Mode only launched in March 2026, while DeX has been around since 2017. Even so, if you want a phone that can also double as a desktop PC when needed, Samsung remains in a class of its own.

Pixel phones get a lot right, and I’d happily recommend them to anyone who wants a clean, no-frills experience. But for me, Samsung makes the whole smartphone experience feel more capable, and frankly, a lot more fun.