Listen, I love generative AI as much as the next guy. I can’t even imagine how we lived without it, kind of like how life before smartphones feels like science fiction, yet we lived through it.
So, yeah, I’m all for our robot overlords taking over sometime in the future, but I think AI needs to tone it down for a bit. You know, to give us a little time to breathe and get our minds ready for the inevitabilities to follow.
This report is not something I’m ready to deal with: Samsung Galaxy may replace the settings menu with AI.
No Settings app?
I’ll be the first to admit I love what Samsung is doing with Galaxy AI. It’s probably been the best AI experience on a smartphone—Google is good too, but Samsung matches their best features, except for some US-exclusive ones.
However, as good as Samsung has been with Galaxy AI, I think they’re trying to bite off more than they can chew by even considering replacing the Settings menu with AI. I don’t think we’re there yet.
In all honesty, if anyone could pull it off, it would probably be Google. Samsung has just gotten big-headed after the relative success of Galaxy AI.
The reports say Samsung sees a future where its smartphones are fully AI-driven. Apparently, Samsung believes AI will be able to anticipate your needs without you having to make any adjustments.
If that works, you can see how the Settings app would become surplus to requirements.
Not too far-fetched
Here’s the thing—there are certain things your phone already handles in the background without you having to fiddle with Settings.
I can’t even remember the last time I messed with the brightness slider. My phone is aware of the ambient conditions and my past preferences, and I find that it gets the screen brightness just right 99% of the time.
Another neat feature is adaptive sound. Many phones now automatically adjust the volume (like ringtones, notifications, or media) based on your environment. For example, if you’re in a noisy place, the ringtone volume might increase, while it might lower automatically in quiet environments.
Some battery wizardry also happens in the background that we don’t really talk about. These modern phones learn your usage patterns and automatically limit background activity for apps you rarely use, restrict power-hungry apps, and even suggest power-saving modes when needed.
Yet another simple one we take for granted is network switching. Our phones automatically switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data (when we’re lucky enough to have both at the same time) if they detect a weak Wi-Fi connection.
This maintains stable internet access without requiring users to manually toggle between Wi-Fi and cellular networks. And you’ll notice that for the other examples, the automation saves you from having to go into Settings.
So, if we already had all this before the huge leap in AI, it’s not far-fetched to believe we could replace the Settings app entirely with AI in the future.
Too soon though
I agree that the Settings app may become redundant, but I think we are far from that reality. Samsung reportedly disagrees.
What’s known is that “Samsung Electronics is pursuing an AI software strategy that will allow users to use their smartphones without having to open the Settings menu.”
There aren’t any details on how that would work, except that “Samsung plans to improve the performance of ‘touch points’ such as the keyboard and camera to implement functions that can predict what consumers want in advance.”
Some analysts believe we will see all this as early as One UI 7 (based on Android 15), which is set to release with the Galaxy S25.
I think there’s little chance that the S25 won’t have a Settings app, but maybe we will get a sense of how the AI can anticipate what we want to do and whether it truly makes the app redundant.
That may be what’s written in the tea leaves, but I think it would be too soon for the S25. We shall see.
What say you, though? I might be one of the few who regularly open Settings. I imagine there’s a sizable number who don’t even remember opening Settings after the initial setup. If that’s the case, then maybe AI should take it away.
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What’s your take?