Bixby on Galaxy phones may soon rival Gemini with smarter answers
Samsung is testing a Perplexity-powered upgrade for its voice assistant.
Andy Boxall / Digital Trends
Google’s Gemini may have sidelined Bixby on recent Galaxy smartphones, but Samsung hasn’t given up on its voice assistant yet. Instead, the company appears to have partnered with Perplexity to level up Bixby’s responses and offer users a more capable alternative to Gemini.
We first caught wind of this partnership in July, when a report suggested that Samsung was exploring collaborations with companies like Perplexity and OpenAI to bring more AI features to Galaxy phones. At the time, a Samsung executive confirmed the company’s plans but did not share details on how such partnerships would benefit end users.
However, a more recent leak suggested that Samsung planned to bring Perplexity’s capabilities to Bixby with the Galaxy S26 series, helping it answer more complex queries. While the company has yet to make anything official, it has reportedly started testing the integration in the latest One UI 8.5 beta for the Galaxy S25 series.
According to recent posts from X user Ach, Samsung has given Bixby a visual overhaul in One UI 8.5 and the voice assistant can now rely on Perplexity’s smarts to answer complicated questions. Screenshots showcasing the change clearly show Perplexity listed as the source at the bottom of Bixby responses.
Bixby is gearing up for a comeback
The Perplexity integration appears to be live for beta testers in Europe running version 4.0.50.4 of the Bixby app, but it’s not widely available yet. Samsung is expected to debut the change alongside the Galaxy S26 series early next year, and it will likely reach older devices with the One UI 8.5 update.
If the integration rolls out as expected, it could mark a meaningful comeback for Bixby after years of playing second fiddle to Google Assistant and Gemini on Galaxy smartphones. Tapping into Perplexity’s AI models would allow Samsung to keep Bixby relevant on its devices, while giving users another capable alternative to Gemini.
Pranob is a seasoned tech journalist with over eight years of experience covering consumer technology. His work has been…
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