Samsung's Now Brief: The Oatmeal of AI Features, Bland but Present

Samsung’s Now Brief: A Bland yet Useful AI Feature

Samsung’s Now Brief, introduced with the Galaxy S25 series, aims to provide a comprehensive daily summary of pertinent information in one place. However, it often falls short of expectations by being overly simplistic and bland.

Key Features:

• Weather, Calendar, News: Basic data from Samsung's proprietary apps, such as Weather, Calendar, and News, is summarized in a straightforward manner.
• Health and Wellness Data: Access to health and wellness information, though not fully utilized.
• Traffic and Travel Info: Integration with Google Maps for travel and traffic updates.
• Memorable Moments: Highlights from the Gallery app.
• Smart Home Suggestions: Basic smart home controls.

Criticisms:

• Lack of Personalization: Now Brief often provides generic information that may not be relevant to the user, such as weather forecasts and news articles without context.
• Limited Third-Party Integration: Despite having the foundational framework for third-party app integration, many categories remain underutilized or non-functional. Features like scheduled Uber rides, Oura health data, Google Photos highlights, and Matter-compatible smart home controls could significantly enhance Now Brief’s utility.

Potential Improvements:

• More App Customization: Users should have the ability to choose which third-party apps contribute to their daily brief.
• Relevant Information: Enhancements in AI and machine learning could help Now Brief provide more pertinent and personalized information.
• Future Updates: Samsung is expected to improve Now Brief as One UI 7 progresses, but these enhancements are needed sooner rather than later.