Bixby gets new life – with AI from Perplexity

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The dead live longer. The latest example of this proverb is Samsung's announcement that it will equip its voice assistant Bixby with Perplexity's AI. The new AI assistant is expected to land on Galaxy smartphones with the update to One UI 8.5 and will apparently coexist with Google's Gemini. Corresponding rumors have been circulating since mid-2025.

Bixby is to become smarter with the help of Perplexity

Since Google Gemini was introduced on Galaxy smartphones, Samsung's voice assistant Bixby has primarily served as a kind of interface between Google's AI and Samsung's One UI to perform system settings such as screen brightness or similar things by voice. This is set to change with One UI 8.5, as the South Korean manufacturer announced in a press release. Although it has since been removed from the website, both Droid Life and Sammobile have secured the content.

According to Samsung, the new Bixby assistant will be able to control many functions on a Galaxy device in the future by users speaking to it in natural language. For example, it will be possible to change certain settings without knowing exactly what the corresponding system setting is called or where to find it. Samsung had already announced something similar for the Galaxy S25 with Gemini. However, with One UI 8.5, the manufacturer is now also cooperating with Perplexity.

Similar to Siri

While simple requests can apparently be handled by Bixby itself, Perplexity AI steps in for more complex tasks to search the internet: Samsung cites the request “Find hotels in Seoul that have swimming pools for children” as an example. Bixby processes the request and, with the help of Perplexity, delivers relevant web search results directly in the user interface.

The Perplexity integration in Bixby is reminiscent of the current functionality of Apple's Siri. Siri can perform simple tasks directly on the device itself. For more demanding tasks that require AI research, Siri gets help from ChatGPT.

Samsung is not the first company to rely on multiple AI assistants on its Android devices. In Motorola's current models, Perplexity's AI-powered search is directly integrated into Moto AI, and Microsoft's Copilot can also be accessed, with Gemini being the standard assistant. However, the partnership with the largest Android smartphone manufacturer is likely to mean a massive growth spurt for Perplexity.

Samsung is unlikely to face any sanctions or restrictions of any kind from Google due to the integration of Perplexity into Bixby. According to an agreement with Google, Samsung and other manufacturers are allowed to install alternative generative AI services alongside Gemini.

Probably first in the Galaxy S26

Regarding the availability of the new Bixby assistant, Samsung only states that it will be available in “selected markets” in the stable version One UI 8.5, with a broader rollout to follow later. Samsung is currently offering the new One UI version as a beta version for the Galaxy S25, among others. However, the final update to One UI 8.5 will most likely be available first on the Galaxy S26 series, which is expected around the end of February. Only then is Samsung likely to distribute the new version to existing devices. Samsung has at least followed this strategy with its previous versions.

(afl)