SEOUL, Jan 18, 2026, 20:33 (KST)
- Samsung’s Galaxy AI page now says its “basic” AI features are free, while leaving room for paid add-ons later.
- Executives say the company wants AI to reach entry-level phones as well as premium foldables in 2026.
- The push raises the stakes in a smartphone market where Apple still leads shipments and rivals are selling “AI phones” as the next upgrade reason.
Samsung Electronics has updated the fine print around its Galaxy AI tools to say its “basic features” are free, as the company pushes to put AI into more phones — including lower-priced models — ahead of its 2026 lineup. (Samsung pl)
The wording matters because consumers have been asking whether phone makers will turn AI features into subscriptions. It also matters because “AI” is quickly becoming the label slapped on everything from photo editing to voice assistants, and buyers are getting pickier about what is actually useful.
The timing is awkward for handset makers. Global smartphone shipments rose 2% in 2025, but researchers have warned 2026 demand could soften if chip shortages and higher components push prices up; Apple led 2025 shipments with a 20% share, narrowly ahead of Samsung, Counterpoint data cited by Reuters showed. (Reuters)
Samsung mobile unit chief operating officer Won-Joon Choi told Axios the company wants to “increase accessibility of AI for all people,” and aims to more than double the number of AI-equipped Samsung smartphones to above 800 million by the end of 2026. Choi said AI is forcing new hardware priorities — more focus on neural processors, the chips that run AI tasks, and high-bandwidth memory — and he argued foldables will still need big screens, adding: “We cannot underestimate the importance of these displays.” (Axios)
The company has also tried to take money off the table, at least for now. Samsung updated its support pages to confirm core Galaxy AI tools will stay free, after earlier wording that said features would be free “through 2025” triggered worries about future charges, Android Central reported. The basic set includes Call Assist, Writing Assist, Photo Assist, Interpreter, Note & Transcript Assist, Browsing Assist, Now Brief and Audio Eraser, it said. (Android Central)
Samsung’s pitch is that the AI should feel less like a gimmick. “The focus is firmly on everyday value rather than novelty,” Simon Sung, CEO of Samsung Electronics Europe, told Business Insider, describing a strategy aimed at “AI that is genuinely useful and unobtrusive.” He said Samsung has its own large language models, Samsung Gauss, but the consumer-facing push centres on Galaxy AI, built into smartphones and using a mix of Samsung tech and partners such as Google. (Business Insider)
In plain terms, the company is trying to make AI something you stumble into, not something you switch on. That is harder when you push down into cheaper phones, where chip power, memory and battery life are tighter.
There is a downside scenario. Samsung has signalled it may still charge for some “enhanced” AI services, and rising memory prices could squeeze handset margins even as AI features demand more silicon.
Samsung co-CEO T M Roh has already warned that “no company is immune” to a memory chip shortage, and he did not rule out raising product prices, saying some impact was “inevitable,” Reuters reported earlier this month. Samsung has said Galaxy AI features are powered by a mix including Google’s Gemini and Samsung’s own Bixby assistant. (Reuters)
For rivals, the move presses a familiar set of nerves: Apple on one side, and Android competitors — including Google’s own Pixel line — on the other. Samsung is betting that putting AI into the whole range, and keeping the basics free, makes Galaxy AI harder to ignore in 2026.
