Samsung Raises the Bar with Galaxy S26's Thoughtful AI Upgrades

At Samsung's annual Galaxy Unpacked event, the tech giant unveiled its S26 series with a clear message: their AI doesn't just work—it understands. Moving beyond gimmicks, these smartphones introduce over a dozen practical improvements that adapt to how people actually use their devices.

Your Phone Gets Proactive

The new "Now Nudge" feature transforms predictive text into something more like a helpful coworker. As you type using Samsung Keyboard, it doesn't just guess words—it anticipates actions. Need to share your location after mentioning a meetup? The toolbar proactively offers mapping options before you even search.

Meanwhile, "Now Brief" evolves into more than just notifications. Imagine your phone recognizing you're about to leave for the airport and surfacing both your boarding pass and current traffic conditions—without being asked.

Camera Brain Goes Front-Facing

Samsung finally brought its acclaimed AI-powered image processing to selfie cameras. The results? Skin tones that look natural rather than smoothed into oblivion, and group shots where everyone looks good regardless of lighting conditions. The new "Photo Assist" takes editing further—describe what you want changed ("make the sunset more dramatic") and watch adjustments happen in real time.

Bixby Grows Up

The much-maligned voice assistant now holds actual conversations rather than just following rigid commands. Tell it "I'm getting too many spam calls" and it will walk you through setting up the new call screening feature, which identifies telemarketers before your phone even rings.

Choose Your AI Adventure

The standout "Agentic AI" feature acknowledges that no single assistant does everything well. With a simple swipe, users can toggle between Google's Gemini for web searches and Perplexity for research-heavy tasks—like having specialists on call rather than one overworked generalist.

Key Points:

• Now Nudge: Context-aware suggestions appear as you type
• Selfie Upgrade: Front camera gets serious AI processing power
• Voice Control 2.0: Bixby understands casual speech patterns
• AI Switching: Seamlessly change between different assistants
• Audio Cleanup: Remove background noise from any video call