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Could Samsung be about to charge for AI features on Galaxy phones?
After «Galaxy AI Premium» leaked, the company isn’t ruling it out
Ever since Samsung debuted Galaxy AI features in 2024, the entire suite has been available free of charge. But could that be about to change? Yesterday, SammyGuru reported that a so-called “Galaxy AI Premium” subscription was in the works, with pricing set at $4.99 a month or $47.99 per year. We reached out to Samsung to clarify, and this is what the company said in an official statement to Tech Advisor:
Samsung’s core Galaxy AI features will remain free of charge. As AI capabilities continue to evolve, certain advanced capabilities or new services may be offered as paid options or separate services in the future.
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While reassuring Galaxy phone owners that Galaxy AI won’t be exclusively reserved for subscribers, this leaves the door firmly open for a paid tier. Could we see it debut alongside the Galaxy S27 series, as SammyGuru suggests?
Current Galaxy AI features will remain free – with a catch
Samsung’s statement begs the question: what constitutes a “core” Galaxy AI feature? Will users be locked out of existing features unless they pay? Luckily, the company has discussed this previously, confirming in a 2025 pre-briefing attended by Android Police that every feature that’s “on your phone by default” won’t be charged for. In other words, every feature that’s currently available will be free to use indefinitely. SammyGuru mentions six core features will be available without paying: Browsing Assist, Now Brief, Creative Studio, Smart Capture, Samsung Keyboard (which includes a range of writing and translation tools) and Personal Agent (agentic-style AI, such as multi-step tasks and Now Nudge alerts). AI tools within Samsung Keyboard look set to remain free Luke Baker
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However, there’s a catch: use of these tools won’t be unlimited. The report suggests that once usage limits are reached, you’ll need to subscribe for 4x the usage.
It’s unclear how many different paid plans there will be, but SammyGuru screenshots mention both “AI Premium” and “Max”. This aligns with Samsung’s official statement, which only guarantees some free access to the “core Galaxy AI features”. Brand-new, subscriber-only features
Aside from greater usage limits, SammyGuru also mentions three features that will be exclusive to the Max plan.
Gen Video will supposedly allow you to generate videos based on the photos in your camera. Bixby Action is billed as a way to “automate tasks across your apps”, presumably building on Samsung’s existing agentic AI capabilities, but details are vague. And finally, a new Daily Briefing tool that appears to be separate from the current Now Brief feature. The Daily Briefing name suggests it’ll be similar to the existing Now Brief Luke Baker
The subscription appears to be available as an opt-in early access program, with any testers supposedly refunded for any fees they’re charged during this period. Assuming this takes place soon, the timeline would fit with the Galaxy S27 series’ expected launch in Q1 of 2027. Will this be enough to tempt Galaxy phone owners to subscribe?
That remains to be seen. If you already have a Samsung phone, you’ll want to check out the 10 One UI 9 features you have to try.
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