Samsung is leaning into its AI phone mantra by adding a third built-in assistant to its new Galaxy S26 line, with Perplexity joining Gemini and Bixby as part of its AI OS initiative, and it looks like it won’t be the last such assistant to join Samsung’s AI roster.
This alternative AI assistant, which first launched on S26 phones in the US and South Korea, can be activated by saying “Hey Plex” or set as the default AI when you hold down the wake button on your S26, and it can then perform many of the actions that Gemini can currently help you with.
You can pull information from connected apps like your calendar and gallery, with a level of access reserved for built-in assistants, although you can also perform more basic tasks, such as searching the web for answers to your queries.
This will give Perplexity a higher level of integration with your device compared to a smartphone app, although if you prefer to stick with Gemini, you can do so; Think of this as similar to how you can choose which search engine you want to be the default on your phone.
Since Samsung says eight out of 10 users already juggle multiple AI assistants every day, it’s all about giving us the option to use the tools we like best.
This then begs the question: what artificial assistant will be integrated next? Since there aren’t many options if you only have two options (three counting Bixby).
Samsung was, unsurprisingly, cagey about this, but Kang admitted that “there is a possibility of another partner joining the ecosystem” at some point in the future, and I would be surprised if Perplexity and Gemini remained a double act for long.
As we talked about in our special Samsung Unpacked edition of the TechRadar Podcast, there are a lot of interesting possibilities for on-device AI. Standard options like Claude or ChatGPT are certainly useful, especially for people with a history of those services that could already help improve the usefulness of AI on your device, but imagine if something like a proficient vibration coding assistant took the reins of your smartphone and could help generate new apps to meet your needs on the fly.
This is just speculation for now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is something we see within a few generations, especially as the NPU capabilities on the device improve.
Speaking of hardware capabilities, Samsung explained that its new AI features, including Perplexity, will be rolled out (or not, as the case may be) on a case-by-case basis on older models.
So it’s possible we’ll see Perplexity on the Galaxy S25 smartphones, or the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, but Samsung hasn’t confirmed this yet, and perhaps this software update is one you’ll eventually need to update. Although Kand explained that Samsung wants the AI features to reach as many people as possible, it will be interesting to see what the next One UI updates will bring.
Is Google still number one?
While he’s clearly excited about the arrival of Perplexity and the potential for more AI assistant on Samsung devices, Kang stated that “Our primary partner is Google,” and explained that Gemini will get some new improvements (the exact details were a bit vague, though presumably this includes features like the improved Search Circle) to make it the most capable phone assistant.
This goes against Samsung’s comment about user choice, although it made clear that it is up to AI vendors to make the most of device integration.
Given the competition from Google’s smartphones, its Android operating system being the platform on which One UI is based, and its own Pixel line offering insights into what users want most, it makes sense that its assistant remains in first place for now.
That said, as we’re seeing with AI in other areas, while Gemini may still be the best all-purpose helper, perhaps Samsung’s ecosystem will allow users to turn to different tools for different tasks to get the best AI for each individual job instead of the one-size-fits-all model we currently support.
We’ll have to wait and see how its AI strategy develops, but I wouldn’t be surprised if other smartphone makers follow Samsung’s multi-model approach.
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