I'm sure this has come up before and probably encompasses a lot of the suggestions already here.
Quick backstory, my s10+ recently smashed, for the month it was out with insurance I went back to my old Sony phone.
Basically it made me remember why I switched to Sony back in the day, they got to a point where they said to themselves 'Google has all this functionality thats probably better than what we could do, and they have a lot more data on people to provide a more personalised experience so whats the point us re-doing it and sticking what is essentially bloatware on our phones, lets more focus on what we are good at doing with the devices.'
Coming back to my Samsung made me realise how much I missed being able to swipe straight to my Google feed, which in its place i now have bixby that I switch off as its just not a viable replacement. I still go into the Google app to view my feed.
Same with the Bixby button, I've used Google for years, my house is filled with Google assistants. Bixby assistant again is not a viable alternative in any way.
Samsung calender...I use Google calender as I can access it on all my other devices too. Samsung pay...I use Google pay, and there are many other examples.
It feels like a lot of money and time is sunk into the needless development of proprietary tools and services which probably do not see the level of use that's imagined.
The devices Samsung make are fantastic, put more focus into that, save the company a bit of money, or at the very least let us choose what we want to use on these very expensive devices we pay for.
Ultimately its why I'm an android user and not an apple user, I like the freedom and customisation it affords me, companies customization begins to stifle that.
Personally if it continues down this road which I think it has by stories I've read about the s20 ill probably be looking for more of a stock android option for my next phone. (Without me having to bootload other 3rd party UI's etc...) Thats my 2 cents Worth anyway...
