Samsung’s Bixby With Perplexity AI Is Rolling Out In Beta With One UI 8.5 Update: What It Offers

Last Updated:January 21, 2026, 09:14 IST

Samsung is not giving up on Bixby and the new assistant will be getting an AI boost courtesy Perplexity.

Samsung is relying on Perplexity to bring an AI twist to Bixby

Samsung is the latest tech giant to seek external help for its own AI assistant ambitions. The company is working with Perplexity AI to power its new-gen Bixby assistant that will be available in beta for select Galaxy devices with the One UI 8.5 update.

There were strong hints about this integration earlier this month and now the company has shared more details about how the new AI-powered Bixby with Perplexity AI will offer new features to its Galaxy users. 

Samsung has been using Gemini to a large extent for its AI features but it seems the brand is happy to work with other AI players like Perplexity. We have seen this happen with Apple that is reportedly getting a Gemini model to power the Siri AI and other tools later this year. 

Samsung’s Bixby Revival: What To Expect 

The One UI 8.5 update based on Android 16 will be offering the new-look Bixby assistant which caters to its on-device AI processing with in-house security in play. The AI model will allow Bixby to talk in a conversational tone and you can ask queries or even throw prompts for various actions.

The AI assistant will be trained to smartly understand your command and execute them based on the needs. It could be related to auto-tuning the brightness of your display and keeping it on idle mode when out of activity. 

The other big upgrade will be Bixby using the web to search for your complex queries and you don’t need to open a web browser to do that anymore. Perplexity will be at the helm of these new tasks and abilities for Bixby and Samsung will be hoping its Apple-like strategy could allow its assistant to become a strong force. 

Integrating more AI models means Bixby and Samsung’s AI suite is more expansive and feature-rich that brings more users to the ecosystem. Like the other Live AI features, Bixby should help you with responses based on what it can see through your phone’s camera or even listen to your queries. It should also have image generation support via other models.

The One UI 8.5 update could be introduced with the Galaxy S26 series when it launches in February and Samsung will be eager to flaunt the new Bixby and other AI iterations in front of the world.

News tech Samsung’s Bixby With Perplexity AI Is Rolling Out In Beta With One UI 8.5 Update: What It Offers

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