Gadgets

Bixby Boost: One UI 8.5 Unleashes Major Upgrade for Samsung Galaxy Phones

Published

3 months ago

January 9, 2026

Samsung is gearing up to unveil its highly anticipated One UI 8.5 update, which promises to bring a significant enhancement to a feature that has been overlooked for quite some time.

The Bixby digital assistant, which made its debut on the Galaxy S8 series back in 2017, is reportedly set to play a much larger role in the upcoming Galaxy S26 series.

According to reports from SamMobile, the revamped Bixby is expected to integrate two prominent AI assistants: Perplexity, a US-based company, and DeepSeek, a Chinese competitor that gained widespread popularity in early 2025.

Together, these AI assistants are anticipated to elevate the Bixby user experience significantly. Leaked information on Reddit suggests that the new Bixby will be capable of sourcing information from the web, generating audio and images, and facilitating the upload of photos, documents, and screen shares.

Additionally, there are indications of a real-time ‘Bixby Live’ mode, reminiscent of Gemini Live, and a feature called ‘Circle to Ask,’ which bears similarities to Circle to Search.

Proshis_Saha_Swopna / Reddit (edited)

The overdue upgrade to Bixby is long overdue. Over the years, it has somewhat become a subject of ridicule, with most Samsung Galaxy users primarily utilizing it for basic routines and device settings.

Since its inception, Bixby has lagged behind key competitors such as Google Assistant and Alexa. With the rapid advancement of AI technology, the gap has widened significantly, with platforms like Gemini and ChatGPT raising the bar.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Samsung has opted to collaborate with Perplexity, a leading AI provider. By teaming up with DeepSeek, the revamped Bixby has the potential to deliver reliable results where other AI assistants fall short.

Samsung rolled out the One UI 8.5 beta in December, with the final version’s release date yet to be confirmed. However, reports from various sources suggest that it is likely to debut on the Galaxy S26 series, rumored to launch on February 25.