No Samsung, I don’t want to pay today for tomorrow’s features

Smartphones used to come with a whole host of features. When the company offered the feature during its big, flashy keynote event, it would be available immediately, or at least as part of a day one update. Now, giants like Apple, Samsung and Google have started talking about AI-powered features that are far from ready when you first get your new phone.

Don’t worry, they promised us that the features are “coming soon”. In the meantime, you’ll have to pay extra for a phone with the latest AI-ready hardware. Are we all cool with that?

The short answer is no. We shouldn’t be okay with any of this. Why should we accept a $100 increase in the price of a phone just because the company promised more features? Would you be willing to pay an extra $100 at a restaurant if you knew your next meal would taste even better? No, you’d probably come back when you thought a better meal would be ready.

Still, Google raised the price of its Pixel 8 line by $100, Apple raised its iPhone 15 line by the same amount (though the entry-level models won’t get Apple Intelligence at all), and it could charge even more for the iPhone 16 line once that happens. come with AI on board. Now, Samsung has increased its Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 by $100 to match the increase on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. But don’t worry – the AI-powered features that played a major role in their keynotes are coming soon, so it’s money well spent.

Honestly, maybe the upcoming Apple Intelligence, Galaxy AI and Gemini features will be worth the extra money we pay for them. After all, Google has said that its best features will be reserved for the Pixel 8 Pro because it has enough power to handle AI demands. Apple essentially did the same when it announced that Apple Intelligence would only come to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max in addition to M-powered MacBooks and iPads. If you don’t have any of these devices, we’re sorry, but there’s no AI for you, but you can still pay the extra $100.

On the other hand, we’ve seen some long-promised AI features reach devices. Circle to Search is a noticeable improvement on Google Lens, and Magic Editor is a much more sophisticated version of Magic Eraser. A few generative text options have even arrived, with the Gemini-powered Smart Reply taking up residence in Google’s Gboard. However, most of the AI ​​features that brands can point to right now are things like the ability to generate wallpapers – sure, it’s AI, but is it really that exciting?

As if vague promises of powerful features weren’t enough, we’ve already seen what’s happening “soon” in the industry. Google launched its Pixel 8 Pro with a temperature sensor that couldn’t measure people, but promised support would come soon. It took four months. Google also promised Zoom Enhance for the Pixel 8 Pro, which will allow us to fulfill our dreams of CSI security footage, but eight months later it’s still not here. Samsung has finally given its Galaxy Z Flip line a more useful cover screen – er, Flex Window – an experience that’s been going on for five generations. Even Apple’s annoying notch remained for several years until Dynamic Island took over. So forgive me if I’m a little skeptical about what’s about to pass. If I had $100 for every time I was promised features coming soon, I wouldn’t have to worry about price increases.

It’s true that Apple has said that its beta access to Apple Intelligence will open this fall, likely to coincide with the launch of the iPhone 16 series. The annoying thing is that it’s still considered beta access, which means that users with the most expensive iPhones so far in they’re basically stuck as product testers. It’s still a decently close date, and yet I’m probably more excited about the arrival of extended RCS support in the news. At least I tried this one as part of the iOS 18 beta version and I can say that it works well. On the other hand, Apple Intelligence could shake out much like Google’s first AI summaries — a great idea, but with a lot of kinks to work out.

Now there’s a good chance you won’t be too worried about the current costs of bringing artificial intelligence to smartphones. After all, you’re perfectly happy with your current phone and don’t need to upgrade. That’s a good thing—if you have a 5G-enabled iPhone or your Android device is still getting updates, you’re probably fine.

However, companies make it much harder for me to be a reviewer without critical pieces of software in place. On the one hand, whatever – you probably shouldn’t take my word for it as gospel, because you may be using your phone for something completely different than what I’m doing. On the other hand, this means that I can’t pick out flaws, which reviews can often serve as a warning. At this point, I can only say that AI features are coming; I can’t tell you if they are undercooked or great.

And yet there’s really nothing you or I can do about it. I’ll continue to tell you the good and the bad about the phone as I use it, you’ll continue to wonder why my review didn’t touch on a feature that wasn’t launched until months later, and Samsung, Google, and Apple will happily take our money in the meantime. Perhaps the best thing we can do is wait for these exciting AI-powered features to arrive before declaring them good or bad and spending our hard-earned money.