There were many references to AI at today’s Galaxy Unpacked event. But Samsung is not alone; almost every major smartphone launch in recent years has included new AI features or partnerships with AI companies.
Samsung presented its latest iteration of the Galaxy AI, tossing it aside Galaxy S26 phones. This follows news over the weekend that the company plans to integrate Perplexity’s AI agent — and support the “Hey Plex” wake-up voice — into its new phones. But the relationship seems to go beyond giving Samsung users another AI option.
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As of late 2023, phone makers have been scrambling to add productive AI features and integrate AI agents. Almost all new Android phone supports Gemini Google Assistant. Apple’s iPhones integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into the phone’s Visual Intelligence feature as well Siri overhaul will include Google’s Gemini AI models.
While Perplexity has partnered with phone makers like Motorola to pre-load its app — and integrate it into Deutsche Telekom devices — having its AI and models built directly into phones from the world’s largest manufacturer puts the company in a much bigger category. It marks the shift to AI agents as just another tool that people choose to use, like a phone app.
“The first step to the mobile ecosystem is for the user to choose any agent they want,” Dmitry Shevelenko, chief business officer at Perplexity, told CNET. “I think this is where Samsung takes a big step forward.”
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Perplexity’s Sonar API powers features of the Samsung Galaxy AI ecosystem. Shevelenko said that the company’s engineers worked closely with the Samsung team to update their Bixby assistant at the frame level, gaining deep access to the system. He noted that this is the first time a third-party AI company has won equity in a major mobile OS. I Galaxy S26 phones that Samsung announced support for the new name “Hey Plex”, putting Perplexity shoulder to shoulder with Google’s Gemini AI assistant, integrated into Android on Samsung devices.
“What’s different is the only company that has Google, right?” Shevelenko said. “It’s a real paradigm shift that Samsung will go into the direction of more AI, where it gives its users a choice. And I think they see this as a strategic differentiation.”
Samsung’s installation of Perplexity affects many of the company’s apps including Calendar, Clock, Gallery, Notes and Reminders. The benefit of programming Perplexity’s AI deeply into Samsung’s software is that people can have a simple interaction with their phones. As opposed to turning on their device, navigating to the home page, opening an app and entering a query, people will be able to just press a button, say, “Hey Plex,” and start their search in seconds.
In 2025, Deutsche Telekom launches an AI Phone powered by Perplexity. The Magenta AI logo in the middle of the lock screen activates the Perplexity agent.
But Perplexity’s integration isn’t limited to Bixby. Shevelenko said Samsung’s browser, aptly named Internet, includes agent browsing using Perplexity’s Comet technology.
Such a pivotal moment for Perplexity naturally draws parallels with Apple and its partnership with OpenAI, which has collaborated with former Apple designer Jony Ive on its hardware efforts. When I asked Shevelenko about the possibility of Perplexity developing its own phone or hardware, he replied emphatically, “No.”
“We are very focused on working with all the leading OEMs,” he said. “Our world-class thing is to build intuitive AI that’s easy to use and fun to use and nurture that curiosity.”
And while we wait for Samsung to announce new phones, it will be interesting to see how Galaxy phone owners use the phone’s AI. Soon, people could say, “Hey Google” to their Samsung devices to alert Gemini, or “Hey Plex” to launch a query with Perplexity. And options are usually a good thing.
Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
