Samsung Electronics co-CEO shares 'Google plan' to increase Galaxy smartphone sale

Samsung Electronics co-CEO T M Roh said that the company aims to double the number of its mobile devices with AI features powered by Google's Gemini in 2026. By 2025, the South Korean firm had rolled out Gemini-backed AI features to about 400 million mobile products, including smartphones and tablets. It now plans to boost that figure to 800 million in the current year. “We will apply AI to all products, all functions, and all services as quickly as possible,” Roh told news agency Reuters in his first interview since becoming the company’s co-CEO in November. With the move, Samsung seeks to reclaim its lost crown from Apple in the smartphone market, the report says. It also aims to fend off competition from Chinese rivals not only in mobile telephones, but televisions and home appliances, all overseen by Roh.


Roh said that other than search, consumers o frequently use a range of generative AI editing and productivity tools for images and others, as well as translation and summary features on smartphones.


As per the report, Roh expects the adoption of AI to accelerate, as Samsung's surveys on awareness of its Galaxy AI brand jumped to a level of 80% from about 30% in just one year. "Even though the AI technology might seem a bit doubtful right now, within six months to a year, these technologies will become more widespread," he said.

No company immune to memory chip shortage

According to the report, a global shortage of memory chips is a boon to Samsung's mainstay semiconductor business, but it may impact margins on the smartphone business, its second largest revenue source.


"As this situation is unprecedented, no company is immune to its impact," Roh told the agency, adding that the crisis affects not only mobile phones but other consumer electronics, from TVs to home appliances.


He did not rule out raising product prices, saying some impact was "inevitable" from a surge in memory chip prices, but Samsung, the world’s No.1 TV maker, is working with partners on longer term strategies to minimise the impact.


During the interaction, Roh acknowledged that the market for foldable phones has been growing slower than expected. He attributed this to the engineering complexities and lack of applications suitable for the hardware design, but expected the segment to go mainstream in the next two or three years. He said that a "very high" rate of foldable phone users opt for the same segment for their next purchase.