Claude can run your Android phone far better than ChatGPT can

Android now lets you make ChatGPT or Claude your default assistant instead of Gemini. Android Police tried both on a Samsung Galaxy with the same everyday tasks. ChatGPT was a good talker but could not control the phone. Claude set an alarm and a timer and added calendar events, which put it much closer to Gemini.

What changed

Google has fully replaced Google Assistant with Gemini. But Android also lets you pick another AI app for the job. On a Samsung Galaxy, go to Settings > Apps > Choose default apps > Digital assistant app. You can also give it the side key under Settings > Advanced features > Side button > Long press.

How ChatGPT did

ChatGPT answered every question correctly. That included an 18% tip on $64.50, 350 °F in Celsius, a Spanish translation and the capital of Australia. It keeps listening after it answers, so follow-up questions need no extra tap. The trouble started with phone tasks.

• The timer never started, even after several minutes on a working screen.
• Flashlight, Do Not Disturb, screenshots and calls got spoken instructions only.
• A text message came back as a draft it could not send.
• Calendar needed Google Calendar connected first.
• Reminders were set inside the ChatGPT chat, not a reminders app.

On-screen text was also inconsistent. A message to a landlord was read aloud with no text shown. Every request opens a new chat, so history fills up fast. It also shows nothing on the lock screen.

How Claude did

Claude set a 6:30 a.m. alarm and a 10-minute timer. It added calendar events once the reviewer approved a permission request. It cannot set reminders, so it made an alarm instead. Asked for the nearest pharmacy, it used precise location and found one with hours and a phone number. It could not open Maps or give directions.

Claude also relies on connectors, which are links to other services. They cover Gmail, Google Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Canva, Notion, Microsoft 365, Slack and more. Each must be set up in the Claude app first. Gmail and Calendar needed reconnecting in the test.

It has rough edges. It sometimes wrote English prompts in Arabic script, heard "Team lunch" as "Team launch" and showed stray asterisks. Voice mode once dropped out with an "unavailable" error. It also cannot toggle the flashlight or Do Not Disturb.

What to do

If you already pay for ChatGPT or Claude, either can be tried as your assistant, and switching back is a settings change. For talking and quick answers, ChatGPT did well. For alarms, timers and calendar events, Claude was the stronger pick.