Aggressive AI bet! Samsung plans to double the number of mobile devices equipped with Gemini to 800 million, taking on Apple head-on.

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Samsung Electronics plans to significantly expand its AI strategy in 2026, doubling the output of mobile devices equipped with Google’s Gemini large model to 800 million units.

This aggressive expansion plan, together with its breakthrough progress in high bandwidth memory (HBM) technology, marks that the Korean tech giant is launching a comprehensive counterattack against Apple and chip industry rivals, driving its stock price up 7% on Monday.

According to Reuters, Samsung Electronics Co-CEO TM Roh stated in an interview that the company plans to increase the number of mobile devices supporting Google’s Gemini AI features from 400 million units last year to 800 million units in 2026.

Roh emphasized that Samsung will apply AI to “all products, all features, and all services” as fast as possible. This move aims not only to consolidate Samsung’s status as the world’s largest supporter of the Android platform, but will also greatly help Google gain an edge in its race against OpenAI for consumer users.

Meanwhile, Wallstreetcn previously pointed out that Samsung Electronics Co-CEO Jeon Young-hyun revealed in the New Year’s address that the company's HBM4 products have demonstrated "differentiated competitiveness", and won clients’ high praise as “Samsung is back”. Market analysis indicates this statement greatly boosted investor confidence, and investors are optimistic that Samsung is gradually narrowing its gap with SK hynix in the high bandwidth memory market, and is expected to re-enter Nvidia's core supply chain with next-generation HBM products in 2026.

Driven by favorable factors in both consumer electronics and semiconductors, Samsung is attempting to regain the smartphone crown from Apple through integrated AI services across products, and defend against fierce competition from Chinese rivals in the smartphone, TV, and home appliance sectors. Roh predicted that although the market still has doubts about AI technology, in the next six months to a year, these technologies will become more popular.

Strengthening Alliance with Google, Betting on AI Adoption

As a core ally in Google’s Android ecosystem, Samsung’s aggressive device expansion plan will directly intensify the competition among Silicon Valley’s AI models. Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, launched the latest version of Gemini 3 last November, which is leading in several industry benchmarks.

According to media reports, to counter Gemini 3, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had issued an internal "red code", pausing non-core projects to accelerate development, and later released the GPT-5.2 model.

TM Roh noted that Samsung’s survey on Galaxy AI brand awareness showed data jumping from 30% to 80% in just one year, indicating accelerating adoption of AI. While search remains the most frequently used AI function on mobile phones, consumers are increasingly using editing tools for image generation, productivity tools, and translation and summarization features. Samsung hopes to leverage its leading advantages in these areas to establish differentiated barriers in its competition with Apple.

全面迎战苹果公司与中国竞争对手

According to market research firm Counterpoint, Apple became the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer last year.

Samsung’s strategy this time aims to win back lost market share through full penetration of AI features. In addition to smartphones, the TV and home appliance segments overseen by Roh also face tremendous pressure from Chinese competitors. Samsung plans to use a cross-category AI ecosystem to consolidate its market position.

In the foldable phone sector, although Samsung pioneered the market in 2019 and accounted for nearly two-thirds of market share in the third quarter of 2025, Roh admitted that growth in this market is slower than expected. He attributed this to engineering complexities and lack of apps adapted for hardware design. Nevertheless, Roh expects foldable phones to become mainstream in the next two to three years, and noted that retention rates among foldable phone users are “very high”.

Currently, Samsung is facing competition in this sector from Chinese companies such as Huawei, and expects Apple to release its first foldable phone this year.

Storage Chip Shortage Squeezes Profit Margins

Although the global storage chip shortage is a big plus for Samsung’s main semiconductor business, it also puts pressure on the profit margins of its second-largest revenue source—smartphone operations.

Roh said the situation is “unprecedented”, and no company can escape. This crisis is affecting not only phones, but also other consumer electronics such as TVs and home appliances.

Roh did not rule out the possibility of raising product prices, saying some impact from the surge in storage chip prices is “unavoidable”.

As the world's largest TV manufacturer, Samsung is devising long-term strategies with partners to minimize the impact. According to market research firms including IDC and Counterpoint, because the storage chip shortage may push up phone prices, the global smartphone market size may shrink next year.

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