I didn’t realize how much I’d miss Samsung Routines until I switched to a Pixel

Pixels have “Rules” buried deep in the settings menu, and they don’t hold a candle to the flexibility and usefulness that Samsung Routines provides users. I want a phone that can do things for me without my intervention, and with features like At A Glance and Now Playing, the Pixel is one of the best phones at doing that, which only makes Pixel Rules feel more disappointing.

Using Pixel Rules is simple, but that’s the problem — it’s too simple. A rule is activated when you’re at a certain location or connect to a selected Wi-Fi network, and it can set your phone to DND, silent, vibrate, or ring. And … that’s it. While it is useful to have your phone change sound profiles based on those parameters, you’re limited if you want your phone to do anything more than that.

A little complexity can be a good thing and can turn a feature like this into something that you can depend on for more than putting your phone on silent. And that’s precisely why Pixel Rules has nothing on Samsung Routines.

How extensive is Samsung Routines compared to Pixel Rules? While Pixel Rules has two possible triggers and four actions, Routines has 46 trigger categories and 35 action categories, with each containing several possible actions. These triggers include commuting, sleeping, connecting to a network or Bluetooth device, entering or exiting a location, an alarm sounding, receiving a call, and many more. The actions taken are just as deep and numerous and can extend to devices beyond your phone and tablet, integrating with SmartThings and other parts of the Samsung ecosystem.

Even better, Samsung Routines allows you to combine multiple triggers and actions simultaneously, unlike Pixel Rules. If you wanted your phone to go on silent at certain locations, for example, you can add each place as a trigger within one routine, whereas each place would need a new Rule on a Pixel.

Listing all of the triggers and actions is one thing, but the best way to demonstrate what Samsung Routines can do is to show you how I use them. Suffering from frequent migraines, I keep a widget on my home screen that, when pressed, activates a routine that turns the blue light filter to 100%, reduces display brightness by 90%, and mutes all sounds. I could do these things myself, but when bright screens cause pain and my vision is blurred, only needing to tap a widget is far easier.

One I only created recently is for when I go to the shop near my house. When my phone identifies that I’ve reached the location on the map, not only does it switch my Galaxy Buds 3 Pros to ambient mode, but it also turns on the “boost dialogue” toggle, which makes it easier to complete my purchase without having to put down my basket and mess with the buds.

Finally, I have a routine that makes sure I never miss scheduled phone appointments. I set an alarm called “appointment” to sound ten minutes before I expect a call, and when it goes off, my notification and ringer volume are set to 100%. Routines also allows you to have incoming calls from specific contacts as a trigger, which is great if it’s always the same number. However, in my case, the number varies, so the alarm works best.

Google often advertises what it calls “ambient computing” features on its devices. In a 2020 blog post, Google said: “Google devices are most helpful when they seamlessly assist you throughout the day—wherever you are.”

I agree with that statement, and it makes the lack of in-depth automation all the more surprising. It feels like Google wants its phones to take action without any input from the user, and that’s a good goal to have. But the reality of that is a long way off, and giving us the tools to craft our own automations, ones that simplify things we do every day, would make the Pixel a smarter smartphone.

What’s your favorite routine or automation? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.