Here's something that'll drive you crazy if you're a Samsung user: One of the world's biggest Android manufacturers is deliberately crippling features that make notifications actually useful.
After spending several months with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 as my daily driver, I've encountered one persistent frustration that simply won't go away. Samsung appears determined to undermine the notification system that Android does so well, and honestly, it's one of the strangest cases of self-inflicted damage I've witnessed from a major tech company.
For context, Android's notification management stands as one of its strongest advantages over competing platforms. When you compare it to iOS—where the notification experience leaves much to be desired—the difference becomes crystal clear. I'm stating this as fact today, no debates allowed.
But here's where it gets controversial... Despite Android's superior notification framework, Samsung deliberately chooses to disable or hide some of its most valuable capabilities. Let me walk you through multiple examples that illustrate this puzzling decision.
The latest reminder of this issue involves notification snoozing. Here's how it works on Pixel devices and most other Android smartphones: you'll notice a small clock icon positioned at the bottom-right corner of any notification card. Press that icon, and a menu appears displaying several time intervals. Select one, and the notification vanishes temporarily, only to reappear at your chosen time. This functionality proves incredibly handy for managing your attention throughout the day! Yet Samsung, inexplicably, disables this feature right out of the box.
There's another baffling choice: Samsung turns off Android's notification channels (also called notification categories) by default. This powerful feature empowers users to selectively control which types of alerts they receive from individual apps, based on how developers have categorized those notifications. Rather than forcing an "all-or-nothing" decision where you either accept every notification or block them entirely, you gain granular control over what reaches you. Take Instagram as a practical example: perhaps you'd prefer not to receive alerts about comments, likes, or new followers, but you definitely want to know when someone sends you a direct message. Notification channels make this possible! Yet once again, Samsung prevents users from accessing this functionality by default, forcing them to navigate deep into Settings menus to reactivate it.
And this is the part most people miss... There's also the complete mess Samsung has made of notification history.
I've previously expressed my frustration about how Android manufacturers—Samsung being the primary offender—have essentially abandoned this feature. Samsung not only buries notification history behind multiple layers of Settings menus, making it nearly impossible to discover, but they've also fundamentally broken how it functions. When you tap on a past notification in Samsung's implementation, it merely launches the associated app rather than taking you to the specific content that triggered the notification. Meanwhile, on Google Pixel devices (which run Android as Google intended, before Samsung modifies it), notification history treats old notifications exactly like fresh ones, opening the precise content you'd expect to see.
The problems extend beyond these examples, really. Another recent instance involves Samsung diminishing the utility of lockscreen notifications by default. Users now must venture into Settings just to make their notifications visible again on the lock screen—a change that serves no apparent purpose.
From my perspective, this approach makes absolutely no sense.
Android provides these brilliant, practical tools for notification management, and Samsung essentially responds with "our users don't require these capabilities" before switching them off. While I appreciate that these features still exist somewhere within the software, the frustrating reality is that the vast majority of Samsung Galaxy owners remain completely unaware these options are even available. Consequently, they're not requesting Samsung to restore these features—they simply don't know what they're missing.
Here's my controversial take: Is Samsung actively sabotaging the Android experience, or are they making calculated decisions based on user research we don't see? Do you personally utilize these notification features? Were you even aware they existed before reading this? I'm genuinely curious about your perspective—drop your thoughts in the comments below, especially if you disagree with my assessment!
This Week's Biggest Headlines
Wear OS 6 deployment & Pixel Watch 4 comprehensive reviews
Google has officially launched the Pixel Watch 4 lineup, and our detailed reviews are now available. The bottom line: this represents a more substantial upgrade than initial impressions might suggest, and it's definitely worth your consideration. One of the standout improvements—the software experience—is already making its way to previous generations, with Wear OS 6 currently rolling out to Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3 owners.
- Review: Google's Pixel Watch 4 puts the 'smart' in smartwatch (https://9to5google.com/2025/10/08/google-pixel-watch-4-review/)
- Pixel Watch 4 (41mm) Review: Phenomenal in all ways but one (https://9to5google.com/2025/10/08/pixel-watch-4-41mm-review/)
- Google rolling out Wear OS 6 to Pixel Watch 2 and 3 (https://9to5google.com/2025/10/08/pixel-watch-wear-os-6-update/)
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- Google's new Nest Doorbell is a worthy 5-minute upgrade over the last one Gallery
- When is Gemini for Home rolling out: Schedule, countries, & early access (https://9to5google.com/2025/10/06/gemini-for-home-rolling-out-schedule-countries/)
- Google Wallet adds support for 10th state ID on Android (https://9to5google.com/2025/10/06/google-wallet-id-arkansas/)
- Android 16 October update rolling out with Pixel display & UI fixes (https://9to5google.com/2025/10/08/android-16-october-update-pixel/)
- Motorola's ultra-thin answer to Apple and Samsung doesn't skip a beat on battery Gallery
- T-Mobile reportedly plans to take most of its LTE network offline by 2028 (https://9to5google.com/2025/10/06/t-mobile-plans-to-take-most-of-its-lte-network-offline-by-2028/)
- Samsung's 'Project Moohan' leaks as Galaxy XR, with renders, screenshots, and specs Gallery
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