Take a Closer Look at Samsung’s New Perplexity-Powered Bixby

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Samsung is giving Bixby the overhaul it has long needed, with Perplexity at the center of that effort. A recent leak offered early clues about the next-generation Bixby expected to debut with One UI 8.5 on the Galaxy S26 series. Now, thanks to fresh visuals shared by our own @thatjoshguy69, we’re getting a much closer look at the revamped assistant, its new interface, and its expanded capabilities.

One UI 8.5 brings a floating Bixby powered by Perplexity

A video shared on X shows that the new Bixby can now handle complex prompts on its own. Well, Perplexity is doing the job behind the scenes, but Samsung’s in-house assistant no longer redirects you to the web if it can’t answer your query. Josh asked Bixby, “Tell me about SammyGuru,” and it came up with a detailed description about the site, including key features and content, team, contacts, and policies.

Welcome to 2026 everyone! Let's start this year off with a banger. A look at the new Bixby, powered by Perplexity.

Thanks to @achultra for hooking me up with the apk pic.twitter.com/sKZQlEX6w7

— That Josh Guy (@thatjoshguy69) January 1, 2026

On One UI 8 or older (even on the official One UI 8.5 Beta 2), Bixby simply redirects you to Google or your default search engine for the same query. Perplexity-integrated Bixby on One UI 8.5 (currently not available publicly) now doesn’t send you anywhere. You get your answers on a floating sheet. You don’t even have to exit the app you are currently using.

Whenever Bixby takes Perplexity’s help to answer, it shows a dedicated Perplexity button at the bottom. Tapping this button expands the response into a web-style results view, complete with links. You can click on those links to learn more. Beyond the floating assistant, Bixby can also be opened as a full-screen app from the app drawer.

Since the new Bixby isn’t officially available on One UI 8.5 Beta 2, Samsung may still be working on it. The AI assistant still appears to lack some advanced multimodal features, but those capabilities may be on the way. The Galaxy S26 series may not go official until the end of February, so more details should surface in the coming weeks.

Written by

Sumit Adhikari

Sumit, a life-long Samsung user, is passionate about technology and has been professionally writing on tech since 2017. He’s a mathematics graduate by education and enjoys teaching basic mathematics tricks to school kids in his spare time. Sumit believes in artificial intelligence and dreams of a fully open, intelligent and connected world.

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