Samsung reveals Bixby reboot with device controls, AI, arrives in One UI 8.5 [Gallery]

Ben Schoon | Feb 19 2026 - 7:40 pm PT

After a false start back in January, Samsung has re-announced its Bixby reboot, which delivers more AI and will go live in One UI 8.5.

Bixby has been in place on Samsung devices for years, but Google’s services have generally been favored by users. With its “new” Bixby reboot, Samsung is delivering some big upgrades in functionality.

That starts by building on what Bixby has always been best at – device controls.

Samsung explains that the Bixby reboot will use natural language to let users control their devices “without the need for exact setting names or commands.” Samsung says that users can simply explain what they want, with examples including:

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…a user could say, “I don’t want the screen to time out while I’m still looking at it.” Bixby understands the request and immediately turns on the ‘Keep Screen on While Viewing’ setting — without requiring them to navigate through settings or know the feature’s exact name.

If a user asks, “Why is my phone screen always on when it’s inside my pocket?” Bixby will use the context of the situation and bring up relevant settings, such as Accidental Touch Protection, allowing them to turn it on directly.

Beyond that, the Bixby reboot also delivers real-time results from the web. Samsung doesn’t mention what this is powered by, but Perplexity has been mentioned on several occasions.

Samsung says that the Bixby reboot is available on the Galaxy S25 series via the latest One UI 8.5 beta builds in “Germany, India, Korea, Poland, the UK and the U.S.” That latest beta just landed in the US earlier today.

One UI 8.5, based on Android 16, is expected to roll out to Galaxy users in the coming months after launching with the Galaxy S26 series, which is set to go official next week.