Comment: Pixel 6 shows how Google can make its phones stand out when hardware upgrades have become less exciting.

Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro

Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are widely praised for their excellent cameras, aggressive prices and sharp design, which makes them the first Google phones that may truly compete with Apple and Samsung devices. But for me, these qualities are not the reason the Pixel 6 is so interesting. Instead, Google is trying to push the basic smartphone experience forward with new software features to make its new devices stand out.

Google has been working hard to challenge Samsung-ranking first. The world's number one smartphone supplier-since the launch of the first Pixel in 2016. But the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have features that make it easier for you to complete simple tasks, such as calling customer service or disarming alarms-things that many of us do without thinking about doing routine tasks. These features still need some work before they are really useful, but it feels like a promising step forward. 

While many new smartphones in recent years have only introduced incremental upgrades (such as slightly better cameras or newer processors), this type of advantage may be crucial to the future of Pixel. Google's software advantage is also important, because hardware advancements are only useful when paired with useful software features that utilize them, and Samsung has traditionally lagged behind in this area. 

Pixel 6 runs Android 12 and even has some special features.

Google’s Pixels have two new mobile-centric features: one automatically extracts the estimated waiting time before making a free call, and the other transcribes an automatic menu when making a free call. 

Waiting time, as the name suggests, displays the estimated waiting time for the day and the remaining time of the week when you call toll-free. This is similar to how Google Maps will show you the busiest times of the day for restaurants and subways. Direct My Call transcribes automatic menu options so you don’t have to remember which number to call when you call a bank or cable company. 

These two features are currently unique to Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. They follow other similar features that Google has introduced in the past, such as Hold For Me, which prompts the Google Assistant to wait at your location during a pause and notify you when the representative is available. It also builds on Google's previous cooperation with Duplex, this technology can complete everything from making an appointment for you over the phone to filling out web forms for tasks such as car rental. You can also snooze or stop the alarm by saying "Snooze" or "Stop" on Pixel 6. This feature will soon be used to answer or reject calls. 

It should be said that the new features of Pixel 6 are far from perfect. The wait time function is inconsistent; it works when calling Verizon Support and the US Department of State phone numbers to schedule passport service appointments. But when I tried to call FedEx's toll-free support number, it didn't. And you have to dial the phone number manually to check the waiting time, not just click it from Google search results or call logs. When the Verizon automatic operator started speaking in Spanish, Direct My Call also encountered difficulties. 

Nonetheless, these updates indicate that Google has a plan to improve today's smartphones, not just taking better photos, updating the design and adding faster processors. It also shows how Google thinks about what it means to have a virtual assistant tailored for your phone, which can not only answer voice commands and display application suggestions.

If you have been following the development trajectory of Samsung's smartphones in recent years, it may sound familiar. Samsung also has a vision to use virtual assistants to make your phone more convenient: its digital assistant Bixby.

Injong Rhee, who was the head of Samsung's software and service research and development, called Bixby "the new smart interface on our devices" when he announced the launch of the personal assistant in 2017. Samsung hopes to differentiate Bixby with your voice by emphasizing its ability to help you navigate apps and menus and work together to make mobile devices easier to use. Competitors like Amazon's Alexa are more focused on traditional voice commands, smart home control, and integration with third-party applications.

But Samsung worked hard to make Bixby a success, partly because the virtual assistant was launched much later than Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. It is also difficult to convince application developers to join its voice platform. Samsung also provides a dedicated hardware button for triggering the voice assistant for phones such as the Galaxy S8, which is the first phone to support Bixby. This angered some users because it resulted in many accidental presses, which made Bixby's first impression of consumers unsatisfactory. 

Samsung improved Bixby by giving it a more simplified appearance and adding suggestions for custom voice commands. It also deleted that annoying button. But it still lags far behind the voice assistants of Google, Amazon and Apple, especially in the use of smartphones. A study by Voicebot.ai measuring the use of smartphone virtual assistants from 2018 to 2020 found that Apple's Siri is the most commonly used mobile digital assistant, with a market share of 45.1% in 2020. Google Assistant ranked second with 29.9%, while Amazon Alexa ranked third with 18.3%, and Samsung's Bixby only accounted for 6.7%.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra (right) has a four-lens camera. 

Samsung's smartphones have always stood out with their hardware, but software has traditionally been a weakness. Thanks to the vibrant screens and clear cameras on Samsung smartphones, the company's Galaxy series has earned itself a reputation. Samsung also popularized large-screen mobile phones in the United States through its Galaxy Note series, and Apple and other mobile phone manufacturers quickly followed up on this move. Now, Samsung is one of the first companies to set foot in mobile devices with foldable displays, which can be used as both a mobile phone and a tablet. 

However, earlier Galaxy phone models, such as the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5, have been criticized for their software, with too many settings, functions, and interface options, making people feel messy. Samsung has made great strides in this area, and now deploys software that is cleaner, leaner, and generally easier to navigate. 

Although Samsung has improved its smartphone software, it has not promoted the experience like Google. In addition to the recent Google Assistant mobile phone function, Google's smartphones are also notorious for their software-driven camera functions. 

Take Night Sight as an example, it allows Pixel phones to take better photos in the dark. This feature relies on Google's machine learning algorithms, not just hardware, which means that Google will also be able to introduce it to older Pixel phones when it launches in 2018. Critics praised the feature, and competitors such as Apple soon followed suit. The Pixel 6 series comes with another beautiful new feature called Magic Eraser, which can get rid of the photo bomb with a single tap. 

Google also has a history of improving cameras and other applications by adding new features through regular software updates, often referred to as "feature degradation." Since Pixel 6 and 6 Pro run on Google’s own Tensor chip, we hope that we will see software upgrades for these phones more important in the future. Google also has a history of launching new features on both old devices and new phones - just like Night Sight in 2018 - and Samsung's update schedule may feel a bit scattered.

On the other hand, Samsung's cameras are notable for their hardware rather than software. The Galaxy S21 Ultra achieves unprecedented zoom shooting thanks to its four camera lenses, two of which are telephoto lenses. (One has 3x optical zoom and the other has 10x optical zoom.) 

Samsung's next major smartphone software update, called One UI 4, will launch Galaxy S21 devices by the end of the year. This also seems to be more of an improvement than a big leap. Many new features focus on personalization and privacy, including more beautiful widgets, the ability to set AR emojis as Samsung profile photos, and more control over how location data is shared. In some ways, the software feels like it is trying to catch up with the iPhone, rather than an upgrade that competitors want to emulate. 

This does not mean that all of Google's ambitions have been successful. Pixel 4’s non-contact gestures are supported by Google’s radar technology, but have not been well received by reviewers. This phone was eventually criticized for being overpriced. It’s also worth remembering that with the emergence of privacy issues in recent years, new features such as wait time and direct my phone calls mean Google has a deeper understanding of our phone activity. (Google says that all audio transcription is processed on the device, and unless you choose to do so, the audio will not be shared with Google. The information that supports waiting time is also based on call duration data that is not linked to an identifiable user.) 

Google’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are good choices for Android device users, but there is still a long way to go in terms of sales to catch up with Samsung and other competitors. According to data from Gartner and Counterpoint Research, in terms of shipments, Samsung is the world's largest smartphone manufacturer, followed by Chinese technology giants Xiaomi and Apple. Google is not even in the top five, but falls into the broader "other" category. 

It is not clear whether new tricks such as having a virtual assistant that can wait for you are enough to change this situation. Google has been struggling with Pixel sales in the past, and few companies can challenge the dominance of Samsung and Apple. Ask LG and HTC. 

But what is already clear is Google’s vision to push smartphones forward and how it differs from Samsung. Google is committed to using its virtual assistants and artificial intelligence capabilities to support new features, making it more convenient to use core applications such as mobile phones, cameras, and alarm clocks. At the same time, Samsung pays more attention to hardware, as its four-lens Galaxy S21 Ultra and flexible Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 prove this.

In an ideal world, you will have the best combination of hardware and software. After all, proposing forward-looking and practical new features rather than gimmicks is the only way to make hardware advancements important. Google has a seemingly smart way to put it into practice through Google Assistant and other software features, even if these features still need some improvement. Now it's your turn, Samsung.