6 cool features that are missing from Samsung Galaxy phones

Smartphones have significantly changed the world, bridging the gap between reality and science fiction every year, thanks to many different apps and features. Features tend to attract a lot of consumers, especially when they are exclusive to the brand. Samsung continues to reign supreme in the Android market thanks to the many features offered by its flagship handhelds. Unfortunately, over the years the brand has removed some of the most popular (and some less popular) features from its devices.

Some of the features Samsung removed were not exclusive to the brand, but it removed them from its flagships nonetheless. Others were features that only Samsung Galaxy devices have, and many loyalists miss and continue to lament their absence. Of course, users can switch to another brand if it offers this feature, but that’s not easy when you’re a fan of a specific brand. All you can do is hope that the feature returns one day.

Iris scanners seemed like something out of science fiction, and you might be surprised if you don’t see them on more handhelds in 2026. Like fingerprint scanners and facial recognition on your smartphones, the iris scanner was a security feature that scanned your eyes before unlocking your device. Samsung experimented with this technology when it launched the Galaxy Note 7, allowing users to unlock the device and activate Samsung Pass. It was also used by large companies so that authorized users (employees) could unlock certain workspace applications.

Unfortunately, Samsung ultimately removed the iris scanner around the time of the Galaxy S10 launch. This probably disappeared because Samsung found fingerprint scanners to be more accurate. You might expect a device that scans your eye before unlocking it to be extremely secure, but a group of hackers managed to bypass Samsung’s iris scanner on a Galaxy S8 just a month after the handheld’s launch. The group simply used an image of the device’s owner’s eye, according to The Guardian.

Samsung first included a built-in heart rate monitor with its Galaxy S5 phone and Galaxy Note 4. It was a simple feature to use: just place your finger on the back of the phone, where the sensor used to be, and let it do its thing. It was especially nice for those who are health conscious. The Galaxy S6 then added an SpO2 monitor allowing users to measure their oxygen saturation (the amount of oxygen in the blood). Its use was similar to that of the heart rate monitor; simply place your finger on the sensor on the back of the device.

Unfortunately, the Galaxy SE10e didn’t have a heart rate monitor. After the S10 and Galaxy Note 9, the heart rate monitor and SpO2 sensor disappeared and haven’t been seen since. Samsung likely chose to forgo these sensors due to the growing popularity of wearable devices like the Samsung Galaxy Watch, which tests revolutionary technology from time to time. Many users prefer smartwatches for their health tracking features.

You don’t have to be a millennial to remember buying a microSD card for your phone so you can save as many photos and videos as you want. Some other Android devices still use them, so don’t throw away your old microSD card just yet. Expandable storage is a nice feature because you’re not limited to a device’s internal storage capacity, which can be as small as 250GB. And if you know anything about the age of TikTok and taking photos of anything and everything to send to friends, then you know that’s not enough for most people.

Well, Samsung said too bad and removed the microSD slots on its handhelds because consumers can’t have nice things. The Galaxy S6 in 2015 was the first Samsung device to lose this feature, but the brand must have seen what a bad idea it was since it brought it back with the Galaxy S7. Fans rejoiced and Samsung kept it around for a while, only to remove it indefinitely as the Galaxy S21 rolled out. He hasn’t come back since, but maybe one day he will. Hopefully. Right now, you have to rely on a combination of internal and cloud storage.

The LED notifications were a really nice feature, because if you keep your phone silent, the blinking LED tells you that some sort of notification is waiting for you to check it. Unfortunately, this feature disappeared at a time when Samsung was focusing its design efforts on creating an edge-to-edge display. LEDs just didn’t fit this new design because they would require screen real estate. Users rejoiced when Samsung announced details about the Galaxy S10 as it would retain the headphone jack, but that joy quickly dissipated when they discovered the phone would eliminate the LED.

The last time a Samsung Galaxy device saw the LED notification light was in 2019 with the Galaxy S9 line of phones. People liked this feature so much that some developers created an app to bring it back with the Galaxy S10. It’s just another feature that users will have to hope to return to one day, but for now, it’s gone. Samsung has, however, introduced Edge lighting as a replacement for LED lighting. This feature turns the entire edge around your Samsung’s screen into a notification light, but it’s not as subtle as LED.

The infrared (IR) blaster was a feature favored by many Samsung loyalists and a major draw to the Galaxy lineup. This feature allows users to control their TV and other devices (anything with an infrared remote) from their phone. A user on the Android Central forums emailed the tech giant in 2016, saying that they and other Samsung users loved the IR blaster and were asking for the feature to be returned. Samsung surprisingly responded with a fairly long email, but it didn’t say anything substantial.

The point is that smartphone manufacturers can see which features are used and how often. Samsung likely saw that it wasn’t used as often as its supporters thought and saw a way to reduce costs on future devices. The 2013 Galaxy S4 was Samsung’s first Galaxy phone to have this feature, while the Galaxy S6 was the last. Until Samsung brings back the IR blaster to its Galaxy phones, we’ll all be relegated to our boring remotes.

The 2014 Galaxy Note Edge had a noticeably pronounced edge on its right side that curved the edge of the phone. This was unfortunately the only Edge device where the beloved feature was this prominent. It provided quick access to your most-used apps without having to leave the screen you were on, while still showing the weather, local temperature, and battery charge when you weren’t using it. The curved edge feature continued on the Galaxy S6 Edge, S7 Edge, and up to the S23 Ultra in 2023. There’s the Galaxy S25 Edge, but it didn’t have the courage to feature a curved screen.

The Samsung Edge Display still exists, sort of, as the Edge panel. This is a feature that can be dragged off the screen until you need it. If the feature is enabled, it is visible as a subtle gray bar on the side of the screen, next to the side button. When you swipe left from the gray bar, a side panel will appear, serving as a quick way to switch to another app. Unfortunately, this takes up screen space. Samsung could have continued with the curved edge design on its Edge phones, but as it wanted to make its handhelds thinner and thinner, it no longer exists.