Samsung appears to have accidentally confirmed a major Bixby upgrade. A leaked announcement indicates the assistant will be powered by Perplexity for complex queries. This marks a significant shift from Samsung's previous reliance on Google Gemini for its Galaxy AI features, suggesting a more capable, conversational assistant is on the horizon.

The revamped Bixby will understand user intent rather than exact commands. According to the deleted press release, it can perform real-time web searches via Perplexity and surface results directly in the interface. For example, it could find hotels in Seoul with kid-friendly pools, a notable leap from its current basic functionality.

This upgrade is expected to launch with One UI 8.5, likely alongside the Galaxy S26 series next month. Samsung noted the feature would roll out to 'select markets' initially. This move signals Samsung's effort to make Bixby a more competitive, standalone assistant in a landscape dominated by Google and Apple's offerings.