Key takeaways Samsung plans to double the number of AI-enabled mobile devices to 800 million units by 2026, up from 400 million in 2025. The expansion reflects Samsung’s aggressive effort to reclaim s...
The South Korean electronics giant rolled out Gemini-backed AI features to approximately 400 million smartphones and tablets by the end of 2025 and aims to double that figure within the year, according to T.M. Roh, Samsung Electronics co-CEO and Head of Device eXperience Division.
"We will apply AI to all products, all functions, and all services as quickly as possible," Roh told Reuters in his first interview since becoming co-CEO in November 2025.
The expansion comes as Samsung seeks to reclaim its position as the world's largest smartphone maker from Apple, which surpassed Samsung in global shipments in 2025 for the first time in 14 years.
According to Counterpoint Research, Apple captured approximately 19.4% of the global smartphone market in 2025, edging out Samsung's 18.7% share.
Samsung's strategy extends beyond mobile devices to encompass its entire product ecosystem, including televisions and home appliances, all under Roh's leadership.
The company announced its vision at The First Look 2026 event held at Wynn Las Vegas on January 4, two days ahead of the official CES 2026 opening.
"Samsung is building a more unified, more personal experience across mobile, visual display, home appliances, and services," Roh said at the event.
"With our global connected ecosystem, and by embedding AI across categories, Samsung is leading the way to offer more meaningful everyday AI experiences."
The partnership provides Google with a significant advantage in its competition with OpenAI and other AI model developers seeking consumer adoption.
As the world's largest supporter of Google's Android mobile platform, Samsung's deployment of Gemini at this scale gives Google access to hundreds of millions of users.
Google launched the latest version of its AI platform, Gemini 3, in November 2025, highlighting strong performance across industry benchmarks.
The release prompted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to reportedly issue an internal "code red," redirecting teams to accelerate development and resulting in the launch of GPT-5.2 several weeks later.
Roh expressed optimism about accelerating AI adoption, citing Samsung's internal surveys showing Galaxy AI brand awareness jumped from approximately 30% to 80% in just one year.
"Even though the AI technology might seem a bit doubtful right now, within six months to a year, these technologies will become more widespread," Roh said in the Reuters interview.
According to Samsung, search remains the most frequently used AI feature on smartphones, though consumers increasingly utilize generative AI tools for image editing, productivity tasks, translation, and content summarization.
The company faces mounting competition from Chinese manufacturers in the smartphone market while simultaneously working to expand its AI integration across consumer electronics.
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