Recently, the second-hand mobile phone market SellCell conducted an in-depth survey on smartphone users, involving more than 2,000 iPhone and Samsung Galaxy users. The results show that although both Apple and Samsung have vigorously promoted artificial intelligence (AI) functions in their flagship models in recent years, users' actual evaluations of these functions are not optimistic. 73% of iPhone users and 87% of Samsung Galaxy users believe that AI has produced little significant value gains in their daily phone use. This discovery has triggered extensive discussions in the technology community on the practical application effects of AI functions.
The surveyed users were all smart phone users with AI functions, including iPhone15Pro and updated models, and Galaxy S22 and updated models. Surprisingly, although these devices are equipped with advanced AI technology, users have very limited interest in these features. 86.5% of iPhone users and 94.5% of Galaxy users have made it clear that they are reluctant to pay extra for AI features. Even though Samsung has provided Galaxy S25 users with a six-month free Gemini Advanced experience, surveys show that few users are willing to continue subscribing to the service after the free period ends. Meanwhile, Apple has not announced whether it will charge Apple Intelligence, but the cold reaction of users seems to have heralded future market challenges.
In addition, AI functions also seem insignificant in users' decisions when replacing mobile phones. Only 16.8% of iPhone users said that if the Galaxy phones have better AI capabilities, they would consider switching to the Samsung camp. Among Samsung users, only 9.7% will choose Apple because of the better AI features of iPhones. Although nearly half of iPhone users (47.6%) consider AI when purchasing new phones, this percentage is only 23.7% of Galaxy users. This shows that AI capabilities have not become the main driving force for users to choose mobile phones.
The survey also found that although AI functions are widely present in smartphones, the actual usage rate of users is not high. About 40% of users said they had tried AI functions, with the proportion of iPhone users being 41.6% and the proportion of Galaxy users being 46.9%. This means that more than half of users are not actively using these features. The survey pointed out that many iPhone users may not have upgraded to iOS 18.1, so they cannot experience the full functionality of Apple Intelligence. Galaxy users generally lack interest in existing AI features. In addition, nearly one-fifth of iPhone users and less than one-quarter of Galaxy users say the AI features are insufficient, which is one of the main reasons why they are reluctant to use these features.
This investigation result undoubtedly sounded a wake-up call for smartphone manufacturers. Although tech companies continue to launch new AI features, users’ actual usage shows that these features are not attracting consumers as expected. For many users, AI seems more like a marketing gimmick than a tool that truly enhances the user experience. In the future, Apple and Samsung may need to make more improvements in the practicality and user experience of AI functions to truly stimulate users' interest.
Key points:
73% of iPhone users and 87% of Galaxy users believe that AI has little value for the mobile experience.
More than 86% of iPhone users and 94% of Galaxy users are reluctant to pay for AI features.
Only 16.8% of iPhone users will choose to replace them with Galaxy phones because of their better AI capabilities.