Samsung Accidentally Leaks Updated Bixby, Confirms Perplexity Integration — What It Means for Galaxy Users in 2026
Samsung made a slip and released and deleted an official statement about a massive redesign of its voice assistant Bixby – and this time with built-in Perplexity AI at its core. The incidental leakage was due to a press statement which Samsung hastily withdrew yet pictures and news articles saved the news before it was deleted. The update will probably come in a wide manner with One UI 8.5, probably with the release of the Galaxy S26 series later in this quarter.
It is a significant change since Bixby has always been a lag behind developing conversational fluency that could be compared to competitors such as Google Assistant or Siri. Past Galaxy AI capabilities relied extensively on Google Gemini, but the addition of Perplexity should result in adding genuine web search and more natural language comprehension features directly to the responses of Bixby without leaving users to go to a webpage.
Perplexity Integration Conversational Assistant Responses Smarter.
The new Bixby is not simply the reaction to such commands as turn on Wi-Fi. The AI of perplexity enables it to read mind and respond to intricate queries in real-time and contextually. As an illustration, rather than directing you to a web page when you query about local hotels, Bixby might show actual search results right in the assistant interface using the engine of Perplexity.
The announcement that was later deleted by Samsung even demonstrated how Bixby could switch settings with just natural language commands like switching on Keep Screen On While Viewing by being told to Don’t Turn the Screen Off While I Read. It is a huge break with the old command list Bixby needed.
One Will Be the UI 8.5 which will widen the Bixby with better AI tools.
This Bixby redesign is included in the larger One UI 8.5 upgrade that should add flock of AI capabilities to Galaxy products, including enhanced summarization and contextual settings options. Though a portion of functionality is already present in One UI 8.5 beta releases, the official release is expected along with the launch of the Galaxy S26 series in early 2026.
The reformed assistant will first be made available to the customers in selected markets, and then further expansion will follow the release of stable One UI. Users of Galaxy S25 on beta testing platforms already receive a preview of the way this Bixby that runs on Perplexity would act.
What the Integration of Perplexity Means in Relation to the Old Versions.
Over the years, Bixby was largely a handy tool to perform simplified phone tasks, such as switching on and off settings or opening apps – features that many customers did not consider as attractive as double-purpose assistants such as Gemini or Google Assistant. Bixby can be a lot more helpful with the help of web search and conversation capabilities of Perplexity and rich answers and context-aware conversation.
Nonetheless, Perplexity integration does not always appear to supplant Gemini in Galaxy devices – both AI systems can exist simultaneously and the user can decide which system to invoke based on task difficulty.
What This Leak Bodes of the Future of Bixby.
The fact that Samsung has pulled its own press release is a sign of an untimely announcement of a significant software achievement of which it was not prepared to publicly announce. However, the fact that Bixby will contain Perplexity within it is one of the largest AI changes Samsung has had in years, as the assistant will be being framed not as an ancillary product, but as an essential, conversational AI companion.
With Samsung unifying AI functionality into One UI, a more capable and contextual assistant that can comprehend conversational speech, find real-time information without leaving the OS, and can actually execute valuable functions rather than obeying command prompts can be expected of Samsung.
News Source: Pcmag.com
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