There seems to be a pretty big elephant in the room in the smartphone industry right now. Such as Samsung, Apple and Google invest heavily in development (and marketing) of AI software, but consumers seem less than interested in a technology that has not yet been proven to change gambling for their everyday lives.
At least the impression is that we are getting from reader comments, and a recent survey of more than 2,000 iPhone and Samsung Galaxy users found that 73% of iPhone-owning respondents and a huge 87% of Galaxy owner respondents feel that AI adds only someone or no value to their smartphone experience. It should be tough reading for the technology leaders who collect hundreds of billions on an AI-driven future.
Of course, adoption takes time, and Samsung in turn is committed to the long game. On the MWC 2025 I spoke with Annika Bizon, Mobile Experience (MX) VP for product and marketing in Samsung UK, who talked about the company’s “number one goal” with Galaxy AI – and whose own adoption figures paint a more optimistic image.
“Last year we launched the Galaxy AI on the market and we have now gained over 5 million people using it regularly in the UK. It took the Internet eight years to get to that number, “Bizon said.” When you start using something, it becomes behavior and our job is to change behavior so people can see the benefits. “
“Now,” Continued Bizone, “you can only change behavior if people see an advantage. So [that’s the] Number one target. The second thing for us: Galaxy AI is our hero messages because we want to own that space and bring credibility to that space. But we also have to demystify it, right? Because AI means a million things. See you around today [at MWC]. What we say is: AI makes the worldly easier. It makes you more creative, giving you back time to do the things you love. However, you cannot forget that people buy a phone for the camera, the life of the battery, the durability. These are principles that will sit under each product we bring to the market. “
It is so clear that Samsung has not forgotten the importance of hardware for consumers-despite the staggering number of Galaxy AI-related ads you’ve probably seen in the past year. AI is Samsung’s “hero messages”, but it is a matter of synergy, not prioritization.
“If you think about hardware and software, they work together,” Bizon told me. “AI optimizes the battery on your phone, AI optimizes the camera on your phone – you can always iterate through hardware, but when you start adding AI to it, you really take the whole experience up to another level.
“[Our customers are using AI] Because it makes their lives easier, whether it is circle to search, live interpreter or the fact that I can book a restaurant through my voice and send an invitation directly to my friend’s calendar. It’s about saving time. If you save time and you have the best hardware [working alongside] The best software you really start changing the customer experience. And that’s the important thing. Works in a way that technology works for you instead of working for technology. AI is the space where we see all ours [technology] Coming together – it’s like a pa in your pocket. “
Democratization is the key to adoption
Where smartphone-based AI was the preservation of the very best phones just a year ago, companies have now turned to offer AI at almost every step of the price ladder.
Google, for example, offers the same AI features on the budget-friendly Google Pixel 8A as it does on Premium Google Pixel 9 Pro, while Apple recently debuted Apple Intelligence-Compatible iPhone 16E and lowered the cost of access to its AI feature suite. Removal of the exclusivity from AI will allow these companies to refine and stress testing their AI functions in a way that is simply not possible with a limited sample size, and Samsung, in its honor, realized this earlier than most.
After the launch of Galaxy AI in January 2024 on the Galaxy S24 series, Samsung rolled the same features for the Galaxy S23 series just two months later. Galaxy AI compatibility now covers everything from High-End Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra to the middle class Galaxy A55.
We’ve got over 5 million people using Galaxy AI regularly in the UK.
Annika Bizon, Samsung
“AI for everyone is really important to us,” Bizon explained. “Everyone has a chance to use AI. Personally I’m really proud of the fact that we took step last year to take [Galaxy AI] On previous generation units-it is over 200 million units global, and we gave people the opportunity to experience it. You can only really get adoption when you have a mass market to do it. “
What’s more, the numbers behind AI are not all bad. These aforementioned study results reflect the current mood of smartphone-based AI, but recent research conducted by Techradar Publisher Future suggests that people are increasingly changing traditional search engines to AI tools such as Chatgpt.
Consumer habits is Changing, and while Galaxy Ai may seem gimmicky now, it won’t be long before millions of smartphone users really use their voices to make restaurant reservations. Consider this: Cars, laptops and cheeseburgers were all perceived as mute mot when they originally came on the market. Now they are crucial to the global economy.
