Samsung is making its boldest promise yet in the global AI race — and it is not a small one.
By the end of 2026, Samsung Electronics plans to ship 800 million mobile and connected devices powered by Google’s Gemini AI, double the number it rolled out just a year earlier. Smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, TVs, and even home appliances are all part of the plan. The message is clear: Samsung wants AI everywhere, and it wants it fast.
This is not marketing noise. It is a calculated, high-risk move coming straight from the top.
In his first major interview since becoming co-CEO in November 2025, TM Roh laid out a vision that sounds ambitious, confident — and slightly urgent. AI, he said, will be integrated into all products, all functions, and all services as quickly as possible. Not selectively. Not as a premium add-on. Everywhere.
For Samsung, this is about more than features. It is about survival, leadership, and regaining lost ground.
From 400 Million to 800 Million: Why This Matters
Just last year, Samsung crossed a major milestone. Around 400 million Galaxy devices shipped in 2025 came with Gemini-powered AI features baked in. That already made Samsung the biggest global hardware distributor of Google’s AI technology.
Now, the company wants to double that number — effectively within a year.
Industry watchers say this scale is unmatched. No other consumer electronics company has pushed AI across hardware at this speed. While rivals focus on flashy demos or cloud-only tools, Samsung is betting on mass adoption through everyday devices.
Your phone. Your TV. Your fridge. All talking to the same AI brain.
That is the vision behind Samsung’s internal strategy now called “AX” — AI Transformation. The idea is simple but hard to execute: AI should not feel like a separate feature. It should feel like the product itself.
A Quiet Boost for Google, A Loud Message to OpenAI
There is another layer to this story, and it matters just as much.
Samsung’s expansion is also a huge win for Google.
By embedding Gemini across hundreds of millions of devices, Samsung is helping Google push back against OpenAI’s growing influence. While ChatGPT dominates headlines and cloud services, Gemini is quietly spreading through hardware — reaching users who may never download an AI app.
Every Galaxy device becomes a Gemini endpoint.
This partnership gives Google something OpenAI still lacks: mass consumer hardware distribution. And Samsung knows it. That is why it has chosen Google as its primary AI partner instead of building everything alone.
For Samsung, the deal works both ways. Gemini gives Galaxy devices smart features without the company carrying the full AI research cost. Google gets scale. Samsung gets speed.
Galaxy AI Awareness Explodes — and Users Are Actually Using It
One of the most striking data points shared by Roh is this:
Galaxy AI brand awareness jumped from about 30% to nearly 80% in just one year.
That kind of growth is rare in consumer tech.
Tools like live translation, AI-powered search, note summarization, and generative photo editing are not just being noticed — they are being used. Samsung expects adoption to rise sharply again over the next 6 to 12 months as more devices ship with AI turned on by default.
This is critical. Many AI features across the industry suffer from low usage after the first demo. Samsung’s challenge was always making AI feel useful, not gimmicky.
So far, the numbers suggest it is working.
The Price Nobody Wants to Talk About
But there is a cost — and Samsung is no longer hiding it.
Roh admitted that price increases for some consumer electronics are “inevitable.”
The reason is not hard to understand. AI eats chips. Memory prices are rising. Demand for advanced processors is pushing supply chains to the limit. The global memory chip shortage has added what Roh called “unprecedented pressure” on margins.
In simple terms: smarter devices cost more to make.
Samsung says it is working with partners to soften the blow, but consumers should expect that some future Galaxy products will not be as affordable as before. AI is no longer free.
This is a risky moment. Raise prices too much, and users look elsewhere. Keep prices low, and margins disappear. Samsung has to walk that line carefully — especially with aggressive competitors waiting.
Apple, China, and the Fight for Lost Market Share
Samsung’s AI push is also a direct response to pressure from both ends.
On one side is Apple, slowly but steadily pulling users into its ecosystem. On the other are Chinese manufacturers, offering powerful hardware at aggressive prices.
Samsung lost smartphone market share over the past few years. AI is its counterattack.
By turning Galaxy into an AI-first brand, Samsung hopes to give users a reason to stay — or switch back. The idea is not just smarter phones, but a smarter life across screens and appliances.
If Apple controls the ecosystem, Samsung wants to control the experience.
Foldables: Still a Lead, But Not a Comfort Zone
Samsung still dominates the foldable phone market. In the third quarter of 2025, it held around 64% market share, driven mainly by the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
That sounds strong. But Roh’s tone here was more cautious.
Foldables, he admitted, are growing slower than expected. Engineering complexity, durability challenges, and a lack of optimized apps have limited mass adoption. These devices remain expensive and niche.
Samsung believes foldables will go mainstream in two to three years. But the timing matters — because Apple is expected to enter the foldable market in 2026.
When Apple enters a category, everything changes. Prices, expectations, and attention all shift. Samsung knows this. That is why it is racing to lock users into its AI ecosystem before Apple arrives.
AI Beyond Phones: TVs, Appliances, and the Bigger Play
This is where Samsung’s strategy gets more interesting.
The company is not betting only on mobile. Under the AX vision, AI will connect TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and more. Your TV could recommend content based on your phone activity. Your fridge could track food habits. Your home becomes one system.
Competitors can copy hardware. Copying an ecosystem is harder.
Samsung believes this integrated AI experience will be its long-term advantage — especially as devices become less exciting on their own.
A Bold Gamble at a Risky Time
Samsung’s plan to push Gemini AI into 800 million devices is bold, expensive, and risky. It comes at a time of rising costs, fierce competition, and fast-moving AI expectations.
But it also shows clarity.
Samsung is not waiting. It is not experimenting quietly. It is placing a public, global bet that AI will define the next decade of consumer electronics, and that scale matters more than perfection.
Whether this gamble pays off will depend on execution — and on how much consumers are willing to pay for smarter devices.
One thing is certain: the AI race is no longer just about software. It is about who controls the devices in your hand, your home, and your daily life.
And Samsung wants to be everywhere.
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