Apple Intelligence vs. Galaxy AI, the AI features people actually use weekly

Artificial intelligence has become the newest battleground in the smartphone market. Apple and Samsung now bundle AI tools into many of their latest devices, promising smarter and more helpful everyday experiences. From writing assistance to photo editing, these features are designed to make routine tasks easier.

Yet owning an AI-powered phone does not always mean people use those tools regularly. Recent surveys suggest that many owners stick to just a handful of practical features. The results offer a clearer picture of how AI fits into everyday smartphone habits.

Two AI visions collide

Apple and Samsung both bet big on artificial intelligence inside their phones. Apple Intelligence promises privacy first, quiet integration, and helpful writing tools. Galaxy AI leans into bold, camera-driven tricks like Circle to Search and real-time translation. Both companies market AI as the reason to upgrade.

But marketing slides rarely match daily habits. Independent surveys from firms like SellCell and CNET, plus Samsung’s own regional data, show a much messier picture. Many owners never open these tools. Others use exactly 1 or 2 features and ignore the rest completely.

What surveys actually found

A SellCell survey of over 2,000 Apple and Samsung owners found that roughly 58.4% of eligible iPhone owners had never used Apple Intelligence, and about 53.1% of Samsung owners had never touched Galaxy AI at all. That means adoption barely clears the halfway mark for either brand.

Just 41.6% of eligible iPhone owners had used Apple Intelligence at all, and the reasons for skipping it split clearly by brand. Most iPhone holdouts pointed to outdated software they hadn’t installed, while Samsung holdouts mostly said the features simply weren’t useful. That gap says a lot about each company’s real-world value.

Apple’s most used tools

Among actual users, one category towers above the rest. Writing Tools, which handle grammar fixes, summaries, and rewrites, saw the highest adoption, with 72% of Apple respondents trying them. People clearly like quick help drafting texts, emails, and notes without leaving the app.

Behind writing help, two more features stood out. Notification Summaries reached 54% usage, while Priority Messages, which flag urgent emails, were used by 44.5% of respondents. Flashier tools like Image Playground and Siri-related AI features ranked far below practical tools like Writing Tools and Notification Summaries.

Samsung’s most used tools

Galaxy AI tells a different story entirely. One single feature dominates everything else Samsung has built. Circle to Search, which lets users draw around anything onscreen to search it, was used by 82.1% of Samsung AI users, easily the top result.

Photo Assist came in second place by a wide margin. Samsung’s photo editing suggestions were used by 55.5% of respondents, a solid number but far behind Circle to Search. Notably, Samsung itself has confirmed Circle to Search is its most popular Galaxy AI feature, even though Google, not Samsung, actually built it.

Fun fact: Apple Intelligence runs on nearly 940 million devices, the largest AI footprint by device count.

The features nobody touches

Some heavily promoted tools barely register in real usage. Galaxy AI’s Live Translate and Interpreter Mode, both highlighted during product launches, were used by barely more than 1% of respondents. That’s a steep drop from Circle to Search’s 82%.

Apple faces a similar pattern with its newer additions. Earlier Apple Intelligence survey results showed that practical tools like Writing Tools far outperformed creative or experimental AI features. Consumers gravitate toward small, fast fixes rather than elaborate creative or conversational AI experiences.

Why usage stays shallow

Value perception is the biggest culprit behind low weekly engagement. Despite trying the features, 64.7% of iPhone owners rated Apple Intelligence as not very valuable, and 8.3% said it added little to no value. Samsung users reported even sharper dissatisfaction with their AI suite overall.

Accuracy and trust also hold people back from regular use. Among Samsung users, 35.5% distrusted the AI’s accuracy, while 30.1% worried about how their data might be used. Some Apple users also cited accuracy concerns, although those complaints were less common than among Samsung owners.

Brand loyalty stays strong

Interestingly, disappointing AI hasn’t triggered a mass exodus from either ecosystem. Only 16.8% of iPhone owners said they would consider switching to Samsung for better Galaxy AI, even though Apple’s loyalty rate has dropped from 92% in 2021 to 78.9% now.

Samsung owners showed similar stability despite mixed feelings. Just 9.7% of Samsung users said they would switch to Apple for improved AI functionality. For most buyers, camera quality, price, and ecosystem habits still outweigh AI bragging rights when choosing a phone.

What this means going forward

The lesson for both companies is straightforward. Simple, visible, one-tap tools win weekly habits, while ambitious generative features struggle to earn repeat use. Circle to Search and Writing Tools succeed because they solve small annoyances instantly, without requiring users to learn new behavior or trust an unfamiliar process.

Apple and Samsung are already responding to this reality. Both companies continue expanding their AI assistants and partnerships in hopes of making these tools part of everyday smartphone use. Whether these next-generation features finally earn consistent weekly use or join the pile of ignored extras will shape how AI phones get marketed next year.

Little-known fact: Based on CNET‘s survey, AI features remain underused. Only 13% use AI for writing or summaries, 8% for image creation, 7% for photo editing, and 20% don’t know how to use the AI features on their phones.

TL;DR

• More than half of eligible iPhone and Samsung owners have never used their phone’s AI features at all.
• Apple’s Writing Tools lead adoption at 72%, far ahead of Notification Summaries and Priority Messages.
• Samsung’s Circle to Search dominates with 82.1% usage, built by Google rather than Samsung itself.
• Live Translate and Interpreter Mode were among the least-used Galaxy AI features in the survey.
• Most users rate AI as low value, yet brand loyalty remains strong on both the Apple and Samsung sides.

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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.

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