This incredibly simple detail would make every Android phone better, yet Samsung and Google strangely ignore it
Let’s set the record straight: most Android phones these days are pretty good! In fact, they are so good, it is hard for me to think of an outright bad mid-range or flagship Android phone recently.
With fast processors and big batteries, plus mostly very refined software, the majority of smartphones will serve you great for every day tasks. There is a bit of a nuance with cameras where flagship phones give you more, but that gap is also closing quite quickly and some budget phones like the Pixel A series do a mighty fine job.
The most notable such detail and my personal pet peeve has got to be the mute switch.
I’ll admit it right away: you can do without it! Unlocking your phone, swipe and tap a couple of buttons, and it’s done. Muting your phone without a button is not a hard task, but it feels like a chore, it’s repetitive and it’s something so many users need to switch on and off multiple times a day!
Android phones are mature now and it’s time to think about… convenience!
Yet still, most Android phone makers are absolutely choosing to ignore this issue and pretend it doesn’t even exist.
Having to unlock your phone, manually swipe down the notification shade, find the toggle, find the right setting by tapping a few times, and then unlock your phone is as convenient as doing your laundry by hand… when the washing machine is already invented! Just use it!
The utility of the mute or silent switch is pretty self evident, but I have to say that for some primal reason I also find it extremely satisfying to physically move that switch on phones. It is both about utility but also the joy of moving components (or it might just be me and it is all about the utility!).
Not all Android phones are the same
…but most are!
OnePlus phones have had the mute switch since the beginning
This is the moment where the more knowledgeable amongst you have probably already opened the comment section and furiously typed in the name “OnePlus”.
And yes, most OnePlus phones except the very cheapest ones have a mute switch on board. And I’m not here to argue, I’m here to praise! OnePlus calls it the “alert slider” and it works brilliantly! You have three modes: a completely silent one, a vibrate-only mode and a full sound on mode.
But what is stopping companies like Samsung, Google, Motorola, Xiaomi, and countless others to implement some form of a mute switch or alert slider in their devices? It will cost them a few cents more per phone, but it is such a convenience that everyone can appreciate!
Even serial feature killer Apple keeps the mute switch!
Yes, it killed the headphone jack, but it persists with the mute switch
The history of the mute switch in modern smartphones, of course, starts with the original Apple iPhone which had it.
Naturally, since Apple could put a mute switch in 3.5″ phones, modern phones with 6″ or larger displays should be able to find a spot for something so miniature!
Why are Android phone makers not doing this?!
Is it about squeezing more profits or something else?
Listen, it’s not like Android phone makers cannot make switches and buttons! The recently released BlackShark 5 Pro features two huge switches that magnetically control two incredibly cool air trigger like buttons. Many phones in the past had a physical Google Assistant button. All of these are signs that making something as simple as a mute switch is of course doable.
I think when it comes to this one feature, traditional phone makers are kind of used to doing things a certain way and since this is not something you will receive explicit complaints about, they kind of go with the flow and skip it altogether. But I bet that most people out there would love, or certainly wouldn’t mind, a mute/silent switch.
So this is for you, Android phone makers! The next Galaxy or Pixel can have this one tiny switch, it won’t hurt your margins and users will actually appreciate it.
