Samsung appears poised to revive Bixby — its long‑neglected voice assistant — as part of a major push tied to the upcoming Galaxy S26 phones. According to multiple leak reports, the South Korean company is preparing to combine Bixby’s existing on‑device features with the advanced reasoning and generative AI capabilities of Perplexity AI. In this hybrid setup, Bixby would retain responsibility for basic phone operations like toggling settings, launching apps, and managing reminders, while Perplexity’s models would take on more complex queries involving reasoning, web searches, summarization, and context-aware responses.
If everything goes according to plan, this refreshed Bixby could debut alongside the Galaxy S26 series in early 2026, possibly during Samsung’s next Unpacked event. The move may also coincide with the rollout of One UI 8.5 — which suggests that some of the improvements might trickle down to existing Galaxy devices. For Samsung, this isn’t simply about reviving a neglected feature; it’s about redefining the assistant experience. By offloading heavy conversational tasks to Perplexity, Samsung could offer a Bixby that feels more intelligent and capable, without sacrificing Bixby’s tight integration with phone functions.
This shift reflects a broader industry trend. Much like how Apple turned to ChatGPT to enhance Siri, Samsung seems ready to adopt a “multi‑agent” strategy rather than relying solely on any single AI system. The result could be a more flexible, powerful assistant ecosystem — one that combines on-device control with cloud-powered intelligence. For users, that could finally make Bixby a compelling alternative to Google Gemini or other third-party assistants, especially for complex, multi-step tasks or research-based queries.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether Samsung will fully commit to this vision, or how smoothly the integration will work in real-world use. But if successful, the Galaxy S26 could mark the beginning of a long-term comeback for Bixby — one that marries the convenience of built-in phone control with the evolving capabilities of modern AI.
