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About two years ago, I wrote about a long list of annoying features in my then Samsung S5 device (company issued). A while ago I got a Samsung S6 - so it's time to see if Samsung came around and fixed items on the list.

The good news is that some of the really annoying "features" are gone. No more unnerving sounds when the device is fully charged, no more mandatory warning about sealing the USB port cover when unplugging from the charger (this might have to do with the fact that the S6 is no longer waterproof). Lock screen timeout slightly increased, but you also have to slide up to unlock the device - it no longer presents the keyboard by default. S Finder is gone - who did ever use this one anyway?

But not all is shiny and improved.

Auto Brightness

The Auto Brightness thing is still present, and occasionally leaves me with a phone which is way too dark, and I have to manually adjust the brightness.

Power Saving Notification

Well, this one is gone or present, because it only is present if you activate the "Power Saving" option. That's good for saving battery, but it's bad because it does not work well with certain apps. If an app needs the GPS position (like my running app), well, bad, "Power Saving" needs to be off. Too bad. On top of that, the warning changed to a somewhat confusing one that says "performance is limited" - which inexperienced customer wants to read that?

But in the end, this seems to be an Android problem, not a Samsung problem.

Emergency Mode

The Emergency Mode is still there, and it still occupies a position in the power button menu. Will let you know if I ever need this one.

New annoyances

Samsung wouldn't be Samsung if they don't manage to add a few more things.

Data Roaming notification

If you are abroad, the device will show a notification at all times. Occupies precious real estate in the notification bar - and I certainly know where I am anyway.

Flight Mode button gone from Power menu

This one is really annoying: in older versions, there was a "switch flight mode on or off" button on the power menu, the one you get if you long press the power button. They removed this one - in consequence you have to login, go to the notifications, slide down the quick access options, and activate or deactivate it there.

Don't know what they were thinking, I rather have the Flight Mode button there, over the Emergency Mode button.

Power Saving kills apps

If the Power Saving mode is on (and who doesn't like extended battery life), apps are killed after a while. This is rather annoying if apps take a while until they start up, or reach out to some cloud service and download data when they start.

Conclusion

The S6 got better, compared to the S5. But still not something I would by on my own.

Android is a very nice operating system, people like it because it's highly configurable. One of the major players in this game - Samsung Mobile - annoys it's users with certain "features", which you mostly can't switch off or get rid off.

Even more annoying - for me - that's the only Android option I get offered by my employer. The alternatives are iPhone, or Blackberry. So not really an option. Two years ago I switched to a Samsung S3, and a few weeks ago it was time to renew the contract, so shortly before Christmas there was a box with a shiny new S5 waiting for me in the office. Using the new mobile for two weeks now, I realized that Samsung remains true to themself and added more annoying functionality over the past two years.

Samsung is churning out dozens of different mobile devices every year. Maybe they should hire a few User Interface designers, or simply start using their own stuff, and see how annoying it is to use.

Full disclosure: my private Android device is a OnePlus One, running CyanogenMod. In terms of usability, CM and Samsung are worlds apart ...