Google and Samsung have been working closely together for years. The South Korean giant assisted Google with the hardware of its Pixel phones, while Samsung received early the latest Android updates and the Mountain View giant’s mobile AI developments. However, in an unexpected twist, Samsung could bet on another AI as the mainstay in the upcoming Galaxy S26 series: Perplexity.
This isn’t just about switching out one assistant (Google Gemini) for another. A report form Bloomberg suggests Samsung is looking into a significant investment deal with Perplexity AI, which could fundamentally change how you interact with your next Samsung phone.
Perplexity could be the main AI in the Samsung Galaxy S26 series
So, what’s Perplexity AI? We could say it offers a similar experience to Gemini and other AI chatbots currently available. It can direct answers to your questions (citing your sources), generate reports, summarize text, generate “ideas,” etc.
The potential Perplexity deal would bring some significant changes regarding AI in the Galaxy S26 lineup. The first and most important would be a new assistant default that would replace Gemini. Perplexity has had a mobile app for months, so this could be possible. So, when you invoke the AI on your upcoming Galaxy S26, you might see Anthropic’s chatbot emerge instead of Google’s.
Another important change would be a deeper integration of Perplexity into the Galaxy S26 series. We’re not just talking about adding the app and making it the AI assistant by default. Native Samsung apps would be powered by Perplexity’s capabilities. For example, Samsung Internet could receive Perplexity’s search capabilities. Another option is that Samsung decides to boost its own Bixby assistant by giving it Perplexity’s “brain.” Will Bixby finally stop being dumb? We’ll have to see it to believe it.
Less reliance on Google’s AI
The potential change would also mean less reliance on Google for its core AI features. It hints at Samsung adopting a “multi-AI provider” approach, similar to what we’ve seen from other tech giants like Apple, who use various AI models for different tasks.
Nothing is set in stone until an official announcement. However, the prospect of Samsung, one of the world’s largest smartphone makers, making a big investment in Perplexity AI and integrating it deeply into its devices is certainly an interesting development. It could also be a blow for Google Gemini to lose the reach that Galaxy phones offer globally.
