There’s plenty of speculation as to which company will partner Apple and become the default AI provider on the iPhone, but Samsung seems to going ahead decisively with Google.
The South Korean electronics giant plans to double its lineup of AI-enabled mobile devices to 800 million units in 2026, according to T M Roh, the company’s co-CEO who oversees mobile phones, TVs, and home appliances. This represents a significant expansion from the 400 million devices with Galaxy AI features that Samsung deployed by the end of last year.
Galaxy AI, Samsung’s branding for its suite of artificial intelligence capabilities, relies primarily on Google’s Gemini model alongside the company’s own Bixby assistant for various tasks. The partnership positions Google favorably in the intensifying competition among AI providers to capture consumer market share, particularly against rivals like OpenAI.
“We will apply AI to all products, all functions, and all services as quickly as possible,” Roh told Reuters in his first interview since becoming co-CEO in November.
The aggressive rollout comes as Samsung seeks to reclaim market leadership from Apple in smartphones while simultaneously defending its position against Chinese competitors across multiple product categories including televisions and home appliances. Samsung plans to leverage integrated AI services across its consumer products to maintain an advantage in AI features, even as Apple was positioned to be the top smartphone maker last year according to market researcher Counterpoint.
Consumer adoption appears to be accelerating rapidly. Samsung’s internal surveys show awareness of its Galaxy AI brand surged from approximately 30% to 80% in just one year. Roh expects this trend to continue, predicting that AI technologies will become significantly more widespread within six months to a year.
The most popular AI features among phone users include search capabilities, followed by generative AI tools for editing images and enhancing productivity, along with translation and summary functions.
The Broader AI Race
The partnership timing is notable given the current competitive dynamics in the AI industry. Google launched the latest version of Gemini in November, with Gemini 3 demonstrating leading performance on several industry benchmarks. The release prompted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to issue an internal “code red,” pausing non-essential projects to accelerate development efforts. OpenAI subsequently launched its GPT-5.2 model weeks later.
As the world’s largest supporter of Google’s Android mobile platform, Samsung’s commitment to Gemini-powered devices represents a major vote of confidence for Google’s AI strategy. Google had been caught napping by OpenAI with the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, but seems to have finally hit its stride in AI. The company has launched Gemini 2.5 and Gemini 3 Pro, both of which helped it gain market-share, while its image editing products like Nano Banana have managed to get it millions of new users. And while the AI market is still up for grabs, with Google integrating itself into Samsung phones, it appears that the company is well-positioned to become the pre-eminent AI player in consumer hardware space.