Samsung Announces New Bixby with Perplexity Integration

Samsung has officially unveiled the new Bixby, a major overhaul of its virtual assistant that will debut alongside the Galaxy S26 series. The updated Bixby focuses on more natural conversations and deeper, context-aware device control, while a new Perplexity integration adds real-time web search directly inside the assistant. Samsung plans to begin testing the new experience with an upcoming One UI 8.5 beta update for the Galaxy S25 lineup, ahead of its public release with the next-generation flagships.

Bixby becomes a conversational device agent

This update transforms Bixby into a conversational device agent that understands natural language, controls Galaxy devices more intuitively, and pulls real-time answers from the open web. According to Samsung, the new Bixby will reduce friction in everyday phone usage by letting users talk naturally, instead of memorizing exact setting names or commands. In practice, this means the AI assistant now focuses on intent, not keywords.

With the new update, users can describe what they want in plain language, and Bixby figures out the rest. For example:

• Saying “I don’t want the screen to time out while I’m still looking at it” prompts Bixby to automatically enable Keep Screen On While Viewing, without the user digging through menus. Of course, you don’t have to say the exact phrase, but something along those lines.
• Similarly, asking “Why is my phone screen always on when it’s inside my…