Tech Desk 
Dec 27, 2025
An undated image of the Samsung Galaxy S25. — Samsung
Samsung is reportedly exploring a major upgrade to its Bixby assistant for the upcoming Galaxy S26 series, with leaks suggesting a potential integration of Perplexity AI to enhance generative AI capabilities.
According to rumours, Samsung could collaborate with Perplexity AI to integrate more natural language processing and real-time response capabilities into Bixby.
Moreover, the initiative seems to mark the beginning of the company's plans to develop robust on-device and cloud AI capabilities amidst tough competition in the smartphone industry.
Perplexity AI is famous for its advanced search, synthesis, and generation of answers in real time. If combined, the respective functionalities may enable Bixby to accomplish more complex tasks, react to situations in a quicker contextual manner, and execute even more complex tasks than the latest incarnations of the personal assistant available today.
According to sources, this feature upgrade is expected to make its maiden appearance along with the Galaxy S26 series, which is expected to hit the markets sometime early in 2026. The improvement in AI functionality is also expected to be compatible with One UI 8.5, which would be rooted in Android 16.
This has sparked the interests of users who have long considered Bixby to be playing catch-up to its rivals from giants like Apple and Google. With the power of Perplexity behind it, Samsung may finally be able to close the lead in the assistant race.
