As the competition in AI terminals intensifies, Samsung is significantly increasing its deep collaboration with Google. According to the latest supply chain reports, Samsung plans to double the production of mobile devices equipped with Google's Gemini large model technology by 2026, covering flagship smartphones, tablets, and wearable devices, to strengthen its competitiveness in the global AI phone market.
Gemini becomes the core of Samsung's AI strategy
Since the integration of Gemini Nano into the Galaxy S24 series in 2024, users have given positive feedback on device-side AI features such as real-time translation, note summaries, and image generation. In 2026, Samsung will expand Gemini technology to more mid-to-high-end models and emerging categories, including:
- Galaxy S26 and Z Fold/Flip series: Deepen device-side large model reasoning capabilities;
- Galaxy Tab tablets: Support intelligent document processing and multimodal creation;
- Galaxy Watch smartwatches: Introduce a lightweight Gemini model to upgrade the voice assistant.
This move aims to make up for the gaps in ecosystem and user experience of Samsung's self-developed large models by leveraging Google's leading multimodal AI capabilities, quickly building a differentiated advantage in "AI phones".
On-device AI becomes the focus of the battlefield
With Apple, Huawei, Xiaomi and other manufacturers launching localized large models, on-device AI has become a standard feature in high-end smartphones. Gemini Nano, with its high energy efficiency ratio and low latency, has become a key technical support for Samsung to achieve an AI experience that prioritizes privacy and provides instant responses.
Analysts point out that Samsung's expansion of production is driven by market demand, as well as a proactive strategy to counter Apple's deep integration of Apple Intelligence in iOS19 in 2026, aiming to maintain its share in the high-end market.
AIbase Insight: Collaboration or self-research? The divergence in AI strategies of major companies
Amid the huge investments and long development cycles required for self-developed large models, "collaboration" has become a pragmatic choice for some hardware manufacturers. Samsung's decision reflects that in the competition for AI terminals, whoever can deliver powerful, reliable, and low-power AI capabilities to users the fastest will gain a market advantage.
However, long-term reliance on external AI engines may also weaken technological control. In the future, whether Samsung can accumulate capabilities through cooperation and gradually achieve self-controlled AI stacks will be the key to whether it can truly lead the AI terminal era.
