Samsung Electronics announced on February 21 that Perplexity will come pre-installed on the Galaxy S26 series as a system-level AI agent. Unlike a standard app download, Perplexity’s Sonar API connects directly to native Samsung applications including Notes, Clock, Gallery, Reminder, and Calendar. Users can invoke it via the wake phrase “Hey Plex” or by pressing and holding the side button, the same gesture that activates Bixby.
Dmitry Shevelenko, Perplexity’s Chief Business Officer, notes that this partnership signals the end of the “single walled-garden assistant”, explaining that Samsung built the Galaxy S26 from the ground up to support an open ecosystem where different AI models work together at the system level.
In practice, a Perplexity query can automatically save results to Notes, create a reminder mid-conversation, or add an event to Calendar, all without the user switching applications. That gives Perplexity access to a phone’s schedules, to-do lists, photos, and personal notes.
So essentially this is not a chatbot sitting inside a single app. It is access to the operating system, and that distinction sits at the centre of what Samsung attempts with this move.
Samsung Positions Itself as AI Orchestrator
Samsung’s announcement does not pitch Galaxy AI as a smarter assistant or a better chatbot. Rather, Won-Joon Choi, President and COO of Samsung’s Mobile eXperience business, said: “Galaxy AI acts as an orchestrator, bringing together different forms of AI into a single, natural, cohesive experience.”
Essentially, Samsung is not in the business of building the underlying model. Instead, it builds the device that holds all the models together.
The Distribution Play
Samsung’s own research shows nearly eight in 10 users now rely on more than two types of AI agents. Moreover, Co-CEO T.M. Roh told Reuters in January that the company targets 800 million Galaxy AI-enabled devices by end of 2026, double the 400 million it reached in 2025.
For an AI company looking to reach users at scale, there are few faster routes than a pre-install deal with Samsung. Perplexity, which launched only in 2022, now lands on one of the world’s most widely shipped Android devices out of the box.
Three Agents, No Clarity
A Galaxy S26 user who wants AI help now has three options on the same device: say “Hey Bixby,” say “Hey Google,” or say “Hey Plex”. Samsung has not explained what each agent handles, when one takes over from another, or what happens when their capabilities overlap. The announcement merely describes the experience as “seamless,” yet the details that would make it so have not arrived yet.
How This Differs From Apple’s Approach
Samsung’s multi-agent bet looks more deliberate when placed against what Apple does differently. As MediaNama reported in January, Apple and Google confirmed a partnership in which Gemini models will power Apple’s next-generation Apple Foundation Models and an enhanced version of Siri.
According to a joint statement, “Apple determined that Google’s AI technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models.” Apple kept that integration tightly controlled: all Apple Intelligence features continue to run within its Private Cloud Compute infrastructure, Gemini enters at specific defined points, and Siri retains the primary interface layer.
Where Apple bets on a single curated AI experience it controls end to end, Samsung bets on plurality. The two companies also structure their AI partnerships differently. Google pays Apple billions of dollars annually to retain default search placement on iPhones, a financial arrangement that predates any AI integration. However, Samsung’s deal with Perplexity works the other way: it grants a AI company infrastructure-level access in exchange for capability. Both are strategic. The difference lies in how much control each is willing to give up.
What This Means for India
Samsung’s Footprint
The question of control becomes particularly significant in India. Samsung ranked second in India’s smartphone market in 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The market shipped over 150 million devices during the year and has more than 700 million active smartphone users.
At that scale, pre-installing Perplexity with system-level access hands a US-based AI company access to the personal data of tens of millions of Indian users. That makes the question of what Perplexity does with that data directly consequential.
Perplexity’s Legal Baggage
Perplexity faces copyright infringement lawsuits from the New York Times, News Corp, and several other major publishers. The NYT complaint alone alleges Perplexity made over 175,000 attempts to access its site in a single month, bypassing explicit blocks. Additionally, on data practices, Perplexity’s consumer privacy policy enables AI data retention by default for Free, Pro, and Max users, and users must actively opt out through account settings. For a pre-installed system agent, most users may never do that, which means Samsung effectively makes that choice for them.
The DPDP Gap
India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rules took effect last year, but full compliance obligations do not kick in for another year. The Act covers any foreign entity that processes data in connection with offering goods or services to Indians, which places Perplexity within its scope. The Data Protection Board has also not yet designated any Significant Data Fiduciaries, a classification that would trigger stricter processing and consent obligations.
Until that framework fully activates, a pre-installed agent with system-level access to Indian users’ data operates in a regulatory gap. Samsung’s announcement, meanwhile, promises only that “additional details about supported devices and experiences will be announced soon”. The Galaxy S26, nonetheless, goes on sale in India on March 11.
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