The clock is ticking for Galaxy AI. With plans to implement a paid subscription model after 2025, Samsung has less than a year to prove that its AI tool kit is neat and useful enough to warrant an additional fee. It offers useful AI features not possible before capable LLMs, massive datasets, and advancements in parallel processing sparked the current AI craze, but it still needs to make progress.
However, the frenzy is slowing as developers release new AI features, and the public does little more than collectively shrug. A nonzero number of users find real utility in the tools, and use cases like programming assistance will see improved functionality to some degree. Most smartphone users aren’t programmers or power users. We’re only slowly learning which of Samsung’s wide-ranging phones will get specific features, and when. It’s crunch time for Galaxy AI, so what’s getting in Samsung’s way?
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People barely know what AI is
Despite AI’s hype, it remains largely undefined
So far, it’s mostly rendered Pokémon.
A recent Gallup poll found that 99% of Americans used an AI-enabled product in the past week. Gallup reached that 99% figure by defining AI as “computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence,” and asking participants if they used any of “six common AI-enabled products,” including virtual assistants, navigation apps, weather forecasting apps, social media platforms, streaming services, or online shopping apps. In other words, people who don’t consider themselves AI users could be considered such by the industry.
When Samsung touts AI features, it’s not talking about Netflix or Facebook. However, a respected major outlet like Gallup groups them together. Those apps may use some of the same technology as LLMs, like advanced parallel processing and huge, curated datasets. Somewhere in the middle, though, consumers are left to figure out which parts of what features fall under the AI umbrella.
To add another layer of confusion, on-device processing is seeing major adoption, as Arm Senior VP Chris Bergey predicted it would. It’s more private and less capable than letting a cloud supercomputer do the work. But it’s not intuitive which features stay on the phone and which use the cloud. Some Galaxy phones can perform on-device generative AI frame interpolation via Instant Slo-Mo, but need a supercomputer for AI note formatting.
Considering Samsung hasn’t shared any details about its paid subscription, it’s understandable that consumers aren’t clear about what they might miss in the future. We still have several months to go, but Samsung needs to explain why users should splash out on a subscription.
The real-world application just isn’t there yet
User feedback shows AI adds little value to devices
Samsung is pushing its AI tools with dedicated keys on its tablet keyboards.
In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams envisioned the Babel fish, an organism that slides into any species’ ear and instantly translates whatever cross-universe language it encounters. Today’s AI is closer to that goal than some predicted, but it still has ground to cover. Even when it does, that’s a relatively obscure feature most people won’t need.
In fairness to Samsung, Galaxy AI can do legitimately helpful things. Samsung Notes’ AI summaries, auto-formatting, and translation see praise from users. But tools like generative photo editing and the face replacer can get strange. Features like Sketch to Image and Generative Wallpaper seem like little more than gimmicks.
Users seem to agree. A recent survey showed that 73% of iPhone users and 87% of Galaxy users get “little to no value” from AI on their smartphones. Samsung needs to change that for its subscription to stand a chance.
We don’t know what’s coming
Samsung promised to innovate. Now let’s see results
The Galaxy S25 series doesn’t exactly exemplify cutting-edge breakthroughs.
Samsung’s apology for failing to innovate likely came after the S25 series design and specs were mostly set in stone. Ideally, it had some planned advancements in mind when it issued that statement. The relatively overhauled One UI 7 promises to make better use of AI with new features like the Now Brief feature. Early testing shows that Now Brief’s AI data-parsing needs work.
What happened to Bixby? Nobody has used it, but Samsung’s voice assistant getting bumped from its dedicated button in favor of Gemini indicates the manufacturer is all-in on Google’s AI framework. Bixby is still there and supposedly set to receive AI-powered upgrades, but it isn’t a shining example of Samsung’s commitment to specific features. It could still pull through, but for now, users have no roadmap or reason to be certain Galaxy AI will deliver anything unique.
Consider Circle to Search, which user reports across social media imply is the most-used AI feature. Circle to Search is an image, audio, and text recognition algorithm mated to a tailored web search.
It uses modern processing techniques to do the same thing as the What’s on my screen? and Now on tap features did years ago. It works better, but you can’t convince me it has much to do with today’s massive AI push when it’s nowhere near new or novel. How much will people pay per month to use Circle to Search?
The competition can’t be ignored
Apple Intelligence seems almost like a pipe dream, and may never convince anybody to change platforms. But Galaxy AI is based on Gemini, and guess who gets the most cutting-edge AI features as soon as Google refines them for Android interfaces? Not Samsung Galaxy users, that’s for sure.
Will Samsung develop LLM wrappers and parallel processing-based applications with real-world use cases? Can any company corner a subscription market while open source outfits like DeepSeek continue rising? Samsung insists the answer to these questions is “Yes.” My response is, “Show me the money.” When you buy a Pixel 9 Pro, you get periodic Pixel feature drops, which generate a good bit of hype and consumer appreciation. Only time will tell if Samsung can deliver enough innovative features to rival users’ anticipation for those releases.
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Users are waking up to how helpful some tools can be, and that will continue. However, Samsung needs to justify more than just subscriptions. Why shell out $400 extra for the Galaxy Tab S10+ when the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ provides a similar experience, minus AI? If there is a good reason, most consumers aren’t aware of it.
Nobody expects the subscription to cost a fortune, and Samsung does a good job of establishing Galaxy AI tools as discrete features. But is automatic note formatting worth a monthly fee? Moving forward, will Samsung lean on broad language like Gallup did, or fill its AI portfolio with unique processes that Google’s Gemini implementation doesn’t offer?
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Samsung needs to address these questions and deliver real-world results. If any company can integrate novel technology within a refined interface, it should be Samsung, if the love for One UI is any indication. Stay tuned to see whether Galaxy AI can make significant strides in a few months. Without notable progress by mid-2025, paying for Galaxy AI’s hypothetical future won’t make sense for most users.
