Samsung could offer Perplexity as an alternative AI assistant to Gemini on future Galaxy devices.
Gemini is currently offered as the primary AI assistant on Galaxy devices
In recent weeks, the rumour mill has suggested that Samsung is preparing a major shift in its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy as it looks to onboard Perplexity as an AI assistant on Galaxy phones. According to a recent report, the South Korean tech conglomerate is testing a new hotword for invoking the AI assistant on future Galaxy phones, similar to “Hey Gemini” for Google's AI assistant that currently exists on Galaxy devices.
Android Authority collaborated with tipster AssembleDebug for an APK teardown of the latest Perplexity app for Android version 2.69.3. The update's code is said to contain several strings referencing the in-development hotword functionality. According to the publication, users can trigger the AI assistant with the “Hey Plex” hotword, allowing the AI assistant to be invoked even when the screen is turned off, similar to Gemini.
To set up the wake-up command, however, Galaxy users will have to agree to have their voice print collected and processed, and agree to the terms and conditions. The feature will also reportedly demand audio recording access to record the voice. If needed, they can also delete the hotword and re-record their voiceprint.
However, it is expected to work only using the Galaxy device's built-in microphones. The app will reportedly show a Please disconnect message if Bluetooth headphones or external microphones are connected.
As per the report, new services have been added to Perplexity, which add call-in actions, such as samsung.hotword.service and samsung.hotword.service.permission.ACCESS_HOTWORD_SERVICE. There is also a new WakeWordDetectionService foreground service for handling voice activation and wake word detection. These call-in actions are reported to be heavily optimised for Galaxy devices as they rely on the tandem work between Samsung's com.samsung.android.hotword.sdk.IHotwordSdk hotword SDK.
Two image files were also spotted during the APK teardown, which indicate Perplexity being pre-installed on future Galaxy devices. Per previous, this collaboration is expected to debut with the One UI 8.5 firmware, expected to ship with the Galaxy S26 series early next year. Thus, the new hotword for the Perplexity assistant may debut with the upcoming flagship lineup, too.
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