As Samsung gears up for the launch of the Galaxy S26 series, the brand has made a significant announcement about the future of AI on its smartphones. Following reports of Bixby's deep integration with Perplexity, the brand has announced a dedicated AI agent that will live alongside Bixby on smartphones.
Galaxy S26 will arrive with Hey Plex trigger
Samsung has announced in an official blog post that Perplexity will be embedded in One UI 8.5. Users can summon it by saying "Hey, Plex" or long-pressing the side button.
Once active, it acts as a system-level agent capable of understanding what's happening on your screen. It can do things like operate Samsung's core apps, such as Calendar, Notes, Gallery and Reminders, and also select third-party apps.
For instance, a user could ask a question and have the answer formatted into a note or scheduled as a calendar event without manually switching between apps. The brand further clarified that this new addition does not replace Bixby.
Bixby will also receive a Perplexity upgrade, gaining conversational and contextual understanding capabilities. The new Plex agent will coexist, allowing users to choose how they interact with their smartphones. While it's not available as of One UI 8.5 Beta 4 rollout, it's expected to launch with the stable update.
Adding to this, Samsung's COO Won-Joon Choi said that the brand has been committed to building an extensive AI ecosystem. Samsung's internal research suggests that the move was orchestrated because 8 out of 10 users use more than two types of agents.
As for the availability, the feature is confirmed for the Galaxy S26 series. However, Samsung has indicated that more details regarding supported devices will be shared soon, suggesting older Galaxy models may eventually receive the integration as well. All the One UI 8.5-supported Samsung phones may get the feature, so stay tuned.
