Tech Explained: Won-Joon Choi of Samsung says the AI revolution is unavoidable and the Galaxy S26 series prepares users for it in Simple Terms

It is undeniable that generative artificial intelligence — the technology driving chatbots — is rapidly transforming how people use their devices and browse the web. The AI boom is here to stay, and the need to adapt, thrive and lead cannot be overstated. Among the many arguments in favour of AI is its capacity to improve efficiency.

It is an area that Samsung has quickly identified over the past couple of years, to the point that the new Galaxy S26 series may become, for many users, the first smartphone on which they experience agentic AI.

“AI revolution, I think, is unavoidable. It’s going to happen, it is happening, and it’s different from the previous revolutions. For example, during the Internet revolution, it was mainly about revolutionising Internet-related aspects (network, speed and so on). The mobile revolution changed the way people used devices and had mobile experiences. But AI is different in the sense that it will impact every area — you name it: medical, law, everything,” Won-Joon Choi, COO of the Mobile Experience (MX) business at Samsung Electronics, told The Telegraph during a ‘leadership talk’ session with a select group of journalists from India soon after the launch of the new Galaxy S26 series in San Francisco last month. Joining him during the interaction was JB Park, president and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia.

Everything will change through AI, he said. “It’s not just the IT sector. I think we need to be prepared. Not just IT companies, but legal, HR, medical — everything. Everyone needs to be prepared. I believe people are recognising that and they are doing a lot of preparation,” he told this newspaper.

Everything tied to artificial intelligence is booming, which in turn has raised questions about hype. Choi believes the need to invest and conduct research should continue.

“Some people are saying that big tech companies are investing a lot of money… is this hype or not? Is it going to crash or not? I think there can be some adjustments along the way, but at the macro level we still need to invest. We still need to bring resources. And we still need to do a lot of research. I think it’s still the beginning, in my opinion. It’s not done,” he said.

If you look at the new Galaxy S26 series, alongside Bixby it integrates a choice of agents, including Gemini and Perplexity. At the same time, the South Korean company is focusing on user privacy more than ever before, keeping personal data secure while giving users transparency and control over how their information is used.

There are a number of AI-driven features on the new Samsung phones, but there will also come a time when AI becomes so ubiquitous that it will no longer even be considered AI.

“If you remember when touch UI-based smartphones were new, people used keyboards (like QWERTY and others). But do you believe that it is unique or special now? Not anymore. I think as time goes on and as these AI features get integrated more deeply into the device and UI applications, people will not feel this (AI) is special and we won’t even need to call this AI. I think people will just naturally accept that this is something they can use, something that can help. I think that time will come,” Choi said.

JB Park, president and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia

Stay ahead in the AI era

AI has indeed become faster and more accurate than it was two years ago. Systems powered by AI can respond instantly to queries and process vast amounts of data far more quickly than before.

In the new series, privacy is the big focus — both in terms of hardware and software.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra, for example, has privacy at the pixel level with the mobile industry’s first built-in Privacy Display — an impressive display technology that ensures nobody can peek at your screen in shared environments. By controlling how pixels disperse light, the display keeps content clear, bright and comfortable for the user in everyday use while limiting what others can see.

The company has also extended its innovation in post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to critical system processes, including software verification and firmware protection, strengthening device integrity for the future.

New updates to Knox Matrix strengthen protection across connected Galaxy devices, adding PQC-enabled end-to-end encryption for more services such as eSIM transfers and offering clearer visibility into firmware update status across the ecosystem through Security Status of Your Devices.

These experiences are supported by Samsung Knox. For on-device Galaxy AI, the Personal Data Engine (PDE) enables context-aware, personalised AI experiences. To keep this process safe, Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection (KEEP) encrypts each app’s data, while Knox Vault adds a physical layer of protection that isolates sensitive data inside its own secure hardware.

An agentic AI feature being shown on Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. Picture: The Telegraph / Mathures Paul

One may say that many of these features come at a premium. The truth is that people are willing to pay for flagship phones as long as they have something meaningful to offer. In Samsung’s case, that involves a slew of innovations on both the hardware and software fronts.

“Samsung values what the device can bring to you as an innovative product. The company is focusing more on the value that our product can give in terms of increasing your productivity or easing your daily life,” said JB Park. “The Galaxy S26 series is the perfect companion for aspirational Indian consumers who want to stay ahead in the AI era.”

The S26 series has become among the first phones to offer an agentic Google Gemini assistant. At the moment, it is limited to only a few apps, focusing on ride-sharing and grocery shopping. Even so, it is a serious step toward the agentic AI future that many in the industry have been promising.

Choi offered a glimpse into the possibilities agentic AI could bring to the Samsung ecosystem. “We are working with Google to enable the AI OS. The Galaxy S26 is the first product that utilises the AI OS framework that we have built together. We have been working with a few partners — not just Uber but DoorDash, Starbucks and others. We are doing a lot of validation.”

At the moment, there are only a handful of applications using the technology, and the feature is available in English and Korean. “So two things — one is expanding language support beyond English and Korean. And the other is expanding this capability to more services and partners. So obviously we do have a plan. We have already approached multiple vendors together with Google. With the Galaxy S26, we will have a handful of applications. By the time we are ready to launch the foldables in the second half of the year, our expectation is to have many more apps available within this framework.”

Samsung Galaxy S26 series on display at its launch event in San Francisco. Picture: The Telegraph / Mathures Paul

Focus on Privacy Display

Of course, many would like to see the Privacy Display feature extended to other Samsung products, especially the Galaxy Book.

“We are trying to apply Privacy Display to other device types when it makes sense. Mobile phones carry a lot of private information. Sometimes you have financial information or corporate messages. It makes sense for that category. The big difference between our Privacy Display and the privacy films available in the market is that ours has a dynamic capability of turning the Privacy Display on and off — not only for apps but also for specific regions, because we have pixel-by-pixel control. We want to apply this technology to other devices when it makes sense,” said Choi.

Of course, if AI is not your cup of tea when it comes to smartphones, there are also a number of updates — especially on the camera front. There is no denying that the S26 Ultra is a capable creative tool for advanced photographers.

The COO said: “We are focusing on the end-to-end visual experience — from capture to edit to sharing — in terms of pictures, selfies and videos. This is being achieved through hardware enhancement and innovation, together with software algorithms and improvements to the SoC (system on chip).”