Samsung is turning Bixby into a conversational device agent in One UI 8.5

Source: Android Authority

TL;DR

• Samsung’s new Bixby experience is officially confirmed for One UI 8.5.
• The upgraded assistant offers improved natural‑language understanding, agentic device‑management tools, and real‑time web access.
• One UI 8.5 is expected to be announced alongside the Samsung Galaxy S26 series at the Unpacked event next week.

Official Announcement

Samsung previously posted—and later deleted—a newsroom article announcing a new Bixby experience for One UI 8.5, which referenced a Perplexity integration. The post’s removal raised questions about the feature’s release timeline. Samsung has now issued an official announcement confirming that the new Bixby experience will arrive soon.

The announcement coincides with the release of One UI 8.5 Beta 5 to testers, which lists a “Bixby version update” as its sole new feature. According to the press release, the updated Bixby will help users manage device settings and troubleshoot problems using natural language and agentic tools.

Agentic Device Management

Samsung illustrates the capability with a simple example:

“I don’t want the screen to time out while I’m still looking at it.”

Bixby interprets the request and automatically enables the Keep Screen on While Viewing setting, eliminating the need to navigate through menus or know the exact feature name.

As phone settings become increasingly complex, this agentic approach aims to turn Bixby into an interactive device manual.

Real‑Time Web Access

The enhanced Bixby also supports real‑time web data retrieval, allowing it to answer questions that exceed a typical voice assistant’s static knowledge base or a large language model’s context window. Results are displayed directly within the Bixby UI overlay rather than redirecting users to a separate app or browser.

Although the updated newsroom post does not mention Perplexity, the examples are identical to those in the earlier, deleted article that credited Perplexity for AI web integration. It is possible that Perplexity remains part of the underlying technology.

Availability and Launch Timeline

One UI 8.5, featuring the new Bixby, is expected to launch alongside the Samsung Galaxy S26 at the Galaxy Unpacked event scheduled for Wednesday, February 25 at 10 am PT / 1 pm ET. Initially, the upgraded Bixby will be available in select markets, including:

• Germany
• India
• Korea
• Poland
• United Kingdom
• United States

Samsung indicates that “plans for broader expansion to follow.” The company describes the rollout as “marking a new phase in the era of AI as intelligence becomes truly personal and adaptive.”