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Bixby is becoming more intuitive than ever, but possibly at a price. | Image by PhoneArena
After rolling out a major update to Bixby on March 31, 2026, Samsung is now sharing its plans for the future of its devices, with the revamped AI assistant at the center of its strategy.
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In v4.0.70.8, Bixby is evolving. It can now remember conversations, bring up relevant info from the web when you ask a question in natural language, perform multi-step actions, understand natural language prompts, and more.
The South Korean tech giant has reworked the architecture from the ground up. The model is now agentic, which means it no longer waits for commands to "trigger" actions.
Previously, Bixby classified user input and executed tasks based on preset scenarios. Now, with an LLM at its core, it can interpret intent more flexibly and generate its own execution plans. More specifically, we transformed individual functions into callable agents and defined them in a way that allows the LLM to invoke them as needed. This enables the system to combine multiple functions and APIs to complete tasks more meaningfully, going beyond simple natural language understanding.
Jisun Park, Corporate Executive Vice President and Head of Language AI Team at Samsung Electronics’ Mobile eXperience (MX) Business
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No more settings lookups
You don't have to remember the names of different settings anymore! | Image by PhoneArena
One of the most useful changes coming to Bixby will finally ditch Galaxy phone users' dependence on settings. The latest version of the AI agent provides device help and troubleshooting. Beyond getting assistance, users can now receive recommended solutions by describing a problem to the agent.
Allowing users to adjust system settings using natural language is big news, but this has been teased ever since the February 25 Galaxy Unpacked event. What's truly special is that Samsung seems to be working on making all of its products Bixby-compatible, not just smartphones.
Bixby is expanding beyond smartphones
Jisun Park points out that the 'new' Bixby will soon work across the Galaxy ecosystem. The AI assistant will be rolled out in phases to a variety of products, allowing users to control their home appliances using natural language prompts, just as you would interact with Bixby on your phone.
Bixby to support natural language commands for SmartThings devices. | Image by Samsung
The SmartThings platform allows users to control their smart home appliances with Bixby. They will soon be able to ask their robot vacuum to clean a room or tell the agent to turn on the air conditioner, which could make home tech interaction feel more natural. For now, it remains unclear when the new Bixby will be integrated on smart home appliances, but the change is likely already being developed.
Samsung is evidently trying to integrate Bixby at the forefront of all sorts of tech, which marks a significant shift. By putting its revamped AI assistant into home tech, smartphones, and other devices, the South Korean tech giant could be aiming to reduce user dependence on third-party solutions.
But will Gemini go under the bus?
Evidently, Bixby is being put at the center of Galaxy device integration. But will that eventually push Google's Gemini out of the equation?
For now at least, Samsung and Google will likely keep working hand in hand to improve Samsung phones. For instance, the Galaxy S26 debuted with a massively improved Circle to Search, which is now capable of detecting a number of objects in a single query.
Gemini may eventually vanish from the Galaxy ecosystem. | Image by Google
But I wouldn't say Gemini will continue to play a major role in Samsung's products in the future. If the South Korean tech giant keeps pushing for LLM improvements in Bixby, the significance of Google's AI assistant in Galaxy devices could gradually decline over time.
While I understand Samsung's ambition toward Bixby, I can't help but feel it could eventually restrict users. If the idea is to make it an all-in-one solution and limit third-party app dependence, the result could potentially restrict or even block these apps on Galaxy devices after a few years.
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Polina Kovalakova, a News and Affiliate Content Writer, has nurtured a passion for mobile technology since the era before smartphones. With a history of exploring a variety of devices, her insights into the mobile world are both broad and nuanced. Polina's non-partisan view extends to appreciating nearly every smartphone brand, a reflection of her open-minded approach to technology. Polina is equally passionate about uncovering the best online deals, tirelessly working to ensure her readers snag top-tier tech at unbeatable prices.
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