Samsung and Google get closer and the casualty seems to be company’s Siri rival, Bixby

2025-01-25

Samsung has announced the new Galaxy S25 series will replace Bixby and feature Googles Gemini as the default on-device artificial intelligence (AI) assistant. This move signifies a deepening partnership between Samsung and Google in the realm of AI. The announcement came alongside the launch of the Galaxy S25 lineup and a major update to Gemini, which can now perform tasks across multiple apps in a single interaction. Google also unveiled improvements to its AI-powered Circle to Search feature. This shift highlights Googles growing influence in the AI assistant space and Samsungs willingness to embrace third-party solutions for a more integrated user experience.

What is changing for Samsung’s Bixby assistant

With these updates, Samsung has designated Gemini as the default virtual assistant for the Galaxy S25 series, replacing Bixby. Although the Bixby app remains preinstalled, long-pressing the power button on these devices will now launch Gemini by default.

Gemini features on the Samsung Galaxy S25 series

With the latest Samsung Galaxy S25 series, Gemini gains the ability to handle more complex multimodal tasks. Users can now ask it to locate a dog-friendly Italian restaurant and share the details with a friend or retrieve their favourite team’s upcoming games and add them to a calendar, all in one prompt.

This multi-app functionality builds upon Gemini’s existing app extensions, which already include support for various Google apps and a limited selection of third-party options such as WhatsApp and Spotify.

The update also adds compatibility with Samsung’s apps for Galaxy S25 users, including Samsung Calendar, Notes, Reminder, and Clock. Meanwhile, other multi-extension features are available to all Gemini users on the web, Android and iPhones.

Circle to Search is also being improved. It will now automatically recognise phone numbers, email addresses, and URLs, making interactions more seamless. Furthermore, AI Overviews in search results have been expanded to support more types of visual searches, increasing the likelihood that using Circle to Search on an image of a location, artwork, or object will generate an AI Overview.

New Gemini Live features with Samsung Galaxy S25 series

Gemini Live, the assistant’s voice-based conversational mode, is also receiving an upgrade, though this enhancement is currently exclusive to Galaxy S25 and S24 devices, as well as Google’s Pixel 9 series.

Users of these devices can now share images, files, and YouTube videos directly within the chat interface, allowing Gemini to provide feedback and information.

Additionally, Google confirmed that features from Project Astra, such as screen sharing and live video streaming, will be integrated into Gemini on Android in the coming months.

Lastly, Google also announced updates to improve accessibility, simplifying the pairing process for braille screen readers and hearing aids with Android devices.