Everyone else is doing it. Why not Samsung? The South Korean tech maker is reportedly testing a paid subscription for its Galaxy AI features. What’s more, the approximate pricing for this test is also known.
It’s not like we haven’t seen this coming. The company hinted at it in an update to its terms of service last year. Now, it seems that an AI Premium subscription is in testing for the brand’s Galaxy smartphones. The upside, at least for the testers, is that they’ll get their cash back after the test period is over. Everyone else, though? They probably won’t be so lucky.
Samsung prices AI
Many of Samsung’s existing Galaxy AI features are set to remain free, according to the folks at SammyGuru. There is a catch, however. The introduction of rate limits. Features like Now Brief, Photo Assist, and others you may have become accustomed to will remain functional. If you go overboard, Samsung will slam the brakes on and make you buy credits to continue using a feature. Or you’ll be prompted to upgrade to a paid subscription with higher limits on how much AI querying and assistance you can obtain.
The subscription will also allow access to new features. These are listed as Gen Video, Bixby Action, and Daily Briefing. The first involves generating videos from images you’ve taken (like your phone doesn’t already record video); the second… seems to have a vaguely agent-like purpose. Daily Briefing isn’t explained at all, but could be a more advanced version of Now Brief.
Pricing, at least for the Americans, has already been set. As with other aspects, these may change after Samsung’s test concludes. For now, though, the monthly cost for the Max plan is R85 ($5) or R790 annually. It seems that the first phone to support the subscription will be the upcoming Galaxy S27 family. Whether the rollout of paid features (and the features the subscription is supposed to enable) is global remains to be seen. We’ll know more once Samsung’s tests conclude.
