Samsung presents Galaxy S26: AI becomes more intuitive and proactive

With the Galaxy S26 series, Samsung is trying to make a qualitative leap to the idea of ​​an “element with smart functions with an artificial intelligence working in the backgroundcapable of reducing daily steps, clicks and micro-frictions. The declared objective is to make AI more natural and less “geeky”, to the point that the user notices the result more than the mechanism.

AI as “director” of daily activities

The key point of the Galaxy S26 is the idea of ​​proactive and contextual AI: the smartphone understands what you are doing and tries to help when needed, without forcing you to open three different apps. Among the new features are functions such as Now Nudge, which offers “on the fly” suggestions (for example: if you need photos from a trip, it can take you directly to the relevant shots without having to hunt for the right album), and Now Brief which becomes more personalized and aims to function as an intelligent summary of the day: trips, appointments, context-related reminders.

Multi-agent: Bixby changes roles, Gemini and Perplexity enter

In parallel, the series integrates a “multi-agent” logic, with the possibility of using Gemini and also Perplexity to carry out tasks and searches, including multi-step flows between apps (the typical example: request a taxi, check the details and confirm).

Photos and content: from “wow mode” to useful mode

Samsung insists on one concept: photos, editing and sharing must become a single flow and this is where AI comes in in a very practical way. The photo assistant makes changes by describing in words what you want to change (reconstruct missing parts, correct details, even change outfits). Creative Studio is a unique space for turn sketches, photos or prompts into content finished, whether stickers or wallpapers. Enhanced document scanning eliminates distortions such as creases and automatically creates PDFs from multiple images. In essence, AI is not presented as a creative toy, but as a “Swiss army knife” for work, study and social media.

“Circle and Search” evolves: multiple objects in a single search

Samsung also updates the integration with Google’s Circle to Search: a is highlighted on the S26 series multi-object recognition in a single pass. It’s one of those functions that, once you get into the habit, become difficult to give up: fewer screenshots, less copy-paste and therefore less manual searching.

More power to run the AI ​​(without heating)

To make an “always-on” AI credible, computing power is needed. Samsung focuses on different chipsets depending on the model: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy is mounted on the S26 Ultra, with increases in CPU/GPU/NPU and a vapor chamber for support heavy loads such as multitasking and video.

Privacy and AI: Samsung’s response

The more personal AI becomes, the more the question grows: where does my data go? Here Samsung moves in two directions. Privacy Display (only on S26 Ultra) is a built-in screen-wide mode that limits lateral visibilitydesigned for everyday contexts such as public transport and shared spaces. The second is linked to Knox Vault for hardware protection of sensitive data by isolating and better encrypting the data used by AI functions.

To complete the launch of the Galaxy S26 series, Samsung adds the new Galaxy Buds4 Pro and Galaxy Buds4 earphones, designed to extend the “Galaxy AI” experience to listening and calls. The Korean house puts emphasis on a hi-fi audio more faithful to the original and on intelligent adaptive controls: the Buds4 Pro integrate for the first time a larger woofer (with an effective area increased by almost 20% compared to the previous generation) together with improved ANC and the latest generation Adaptive EQ, to adapt the sound to real conditions and the shape of the ear.

From an ecosystem perspective, the earphones allow you to activate AI agents (including Bixby, Gemini and Perplexity) even without picking up your smartphone, with voice commands and hands-free mode; Head movement controls also arrive on the Buds4 Pro to manage calls.