Samsung has finally answered one of the questions people had about Galaxy AI. People were wondering if they would have to pay for Galaxy AI on. The good news is that the basic Galaxy AI features that Samsung provides will always be free. You do not have to worry about paying for Galaxy AI. Galaxy AI is free. It will stay that way not just until 2025, like some people thought. Galaxy AI features will remain free permanently. The answer did not come as an announcement on a stage. It came in writing on Samsungs official Galaxy support pages. That is why many news stories call it a confirmation from Samsung, about the Galaxy.

1) The confusion: “Free through 2025” vs “Free forever”

When Samsung came out with the Galaxy AI, which started with the Galaxy S24 and was added to phones later their official pages and marketing stuff said something like: You can use Galaxy AI features, for free until the end of 2025. This one sentence caused a lot of confusion because it made people think about what would happen in one of two ways:

The Galaxy AI service will not be free, after the year 2025 or it will cost money to use the Galaxy AI. The Galaxy AI will start charging people to use it after 2025.

The Galaxy AI will start costing money after the year 2025. Samsung has not told us which parts of the Galaxy AI we will have to pay for.

The uncertainty, about Artificial Intelligence costs grew as people started to see how much they were spending on Artificial Intelligence across the industry.

Artificial Intelligence is not cheap it costs a lot of money to have models and to use cloud inference and to keep training Artificial Intelligence.

This is why some other companies have started to charge people a subscription fee to use the advanced Artificial Intelligence capabilities.

What Samsung is doing now is making things simpler. The company is making a difference, between the types of Galaxy AI. They are saying that people will always get some things from Samsung for free. These are the things that Samsung provides with Galaxy AI.

On Samsungs Galaxy AI pages like the one for Samsung US they have updated the questions and answers section. Now it says that the basic things you can do with Galaxy AI from Samsung are free.. They also added something important. They said that if you want to use the better Galaxy AI features from Samsung or features from companies it might cost you money. The Galaxy AI features from Samsung that are better and the features, from companies might have different rules and you might have to pay for them.

So, the headline takeaway is:

The Core Galaxy AI that comes with Samsung devices, the version will always be free to use.

The Core Galaxy AI, from Samsung is a version and it will stay free forever.

The new Samsung artificial intelligence features that are coming out in the future might cost people money to use them. Samsung artificial intelligence features will have some things that people will have to pay for.

When we use third-party AI features, like the parts that are powered by Google, these third-party AI features have their rules that we have to follow. The cost of these third-party AI features can. Some of them might require payment, which depends on the company that is providing these third-party AI features.

This is what a lot of technology websites thought Samsung meant when they changed what they said: the basic things you can do with it will still be free and you can still pay to get features.

2) So I was wondering what Samsung means when they talk about the features of their products. What do they consider to be the basic features. I mean what does Samsung think is basic. Are they talking about the features that come with every Samsung device or something more. I just want to know what Samsung means by features, in general when it comes to Samsung products.

The important thing about Samsungs update is not just that it is free forever. It is also, about what Samsung means by basic when they talk about Samsungs update and what Samsung considers basic. Samsungs idea of basic is a deal when it comes to Samsungs update.

Samsungs updated footnote tells people to go to a place:

The Galaxy AI has some features. You can find these features under ” intelligence” in the Samsung Services Terms and Conditions. The words might be a little different depending on where you’re and which page you are looking at.

That sounds like something only experts would know. The term ” intelligence” is not something that most people look at every day.. It is really important because it makes “basic” features, into a clear list, not just a vague idea that people talk about. This is because “Advanced intelligence” makes things more specific and that is what people need to understand what they are getting.

I do not understand why the word “basic” is listed under a category called ” intelligence”. The term ” intelligence” seems to imply something that is complex and sophisticated. So it is strange that “basic” is included in this category. The word “basic” and ” intelligence” do not seem to go together. Advanced intelligence is supposed to be about things that’re complicated and hard to understand.. Basic” is the opposite of that. It is about things that’re simple and easy to understand. I think it is weird that “basic” is, under intelligence.

This is really confusing. Samsung has a special label that they use in their service terms. When we talk to each other we think “basic” means the thing, the thing that everyone gets.. For Samsung the main artificial intelligence services are actually called “Advanced intelligence”. So when Samsung says “basic” they are talking about the price, which’s free not how good the feature is. Samsung uses the word “basic” to describe the version, not the artificial intelligence itself.

There are a lot of reports about this list. They all say that it has many of the Galaxy AI tools that people are already familiar, with. The list includes many of the Galaxy AI tools that people already know about.

3) What Galaxy AI features do I get when I use the basic set of Galaxy AI features in the Galaxy AI?

So when we talk about Samsung they have their way of deciding what is basic. They look at the list in their services terms. Also, at the Advanced intelligence group that they mention in the footnotes. What this means is that the things that are covered by Samsung are the Galaxy AI features that they have listed. These are the things that Samsung says are basic. It is whatever they have decided to put in that list as Galaxy AI basic features.

So I was looking at what Samsung thinks is basic. They have a list of things that they consider basic. This list has things, like Call Assist and Writing Assist and Photo Assist. It also has Interpreter and Note Assist and Transcript Assist. They also think Browsing Assist and Drawing Assist are basic. The list also includes Now Brief and Audio Eraser. Samsung considers all these things basic.

So when we are using our phone what does that actually mean for the user experience, on the phone?

Communication & translation

When you use Call Assist or Live Translate you can get translations in time while you are on a phone call. This is really helpful. The thing is, you can only use it if it is available for the language you speak and the region you are, in and the device you have.

Interpreter: Two-way, in-person translation mode.

Writing & productivity

Writing Assist: Tone changes, rewrites, summaries, grammar-like help in supported contexts.

I use Note Assist or Transcript Assist to get summaries and structured notes. It also helps me with transcription workflows. The names of these features might be different depending on the app I am using. Where I am.

Browsing Assist: Summarizing web content.

Photos, media & creativity

The Photo Assist is a cool tool that helps with editing pictures. It uses intelligence to make things look better. The artificial intelligence editing helpers are, like tools that can change the style of the picture. However the Photo Assist tools you can use might be different depending on the device you are using and the rules of the place you are using it.

Drawing Assist: Turning rough sketches into more refined outputs / styles (where available).

Audio Eraser: Cleaning up audio in supported scenarios (device/model dependent).

The things we do every day and making things right for us are important. Life and personalization features are what make our daily routines special. We like it when daily life is easy and fun. So daily life and personalization features are very useful, to us.

* Daily life is what we experience every day

* Personalization features help make daily life better for us

Daily life and personalization features go hand in hand to make our lives more enjoyable.

So Samsung has this thing called Now Brief. It is like a feature that gives you updates all day long. These updates are just, for you, which’s pretty cool.. You might not get it because it depends on where you are and what kind of device you have.

It is important to remember that the features you can use still depend on what kind of device model you have what version of One UI you’re using, where you are in the world what languages your device supports and who your carrier is. Samsung always includes this information on their pages so you know what to expect from your device. The exact availability of features is something that Samsung’s very clear, about and they remind you that it depends on your device model, One UI version, region, language support and carrier.

So when Samsung says “free forever” it does not mean that something is available, on every Galaxy phone. What it actually means is that if your Galaxy phone can do some things Samsung will not charge you for these things later on. They will not put them behind a paywall that says you have to pay Samsung to use them. Samsung is saying that these things will be free for your Galaxy phone to use and they will stay that way.

4) What is different, in the details of the agreement and why the small details of the agreement are important

The main thing that has changed is that some words have been added or made clearer such as the wording. The key update is about the wording. This is what is important the wording. The change is, in the wording it has been updated.

The basic features of Galaxy AI that are provided by Samsung do not cost anything. These Galaxy AI features are available to everyone, for free. You can use the Galaxy AI features without paying any money.

When you use Samsung enhanced Artificial Intelligence features and other Artificial Intelligence features from parties you need to know that they have their own rules. These Artificial Intelligence features may also cost you some money.

The basic features of Galaxy AI are listed under the section that says ‘Advanced intelligence’, in the Samsung Services Terms and Conditions. This is where you can find the Galaxy AI features. Galaxy AI has some features that’re pretty important and these are listed in the Samsung Services Terms and Conditions under ‘Advanced intelligence’.

This matters for three reasons:

A) This means they are not going to charge for the things that are part of the package we have today. The core bundle is something they are not going to charge for.

Under the idea that things are free, until 2025 Samsung had the option to charge people for Galaxy AI things after 2025. Now it is really tough for Samsung to make people pay for the Galaxy AI things all of a sudden. Because Samsung said that some Galaxy AI things will always be free.

That is why coverage said Samsung is stopping a feature subscription. They said Samsung is basically shutting the door on this. The coverage talked about Samsung shutting the door on a feature subscription.

B) This means that the door is now open to people paying for special features the paid enhanced tiers. The paid enhanced tiers are like an addition, to what people have and people have to pay to get these extra features the paid enhanced tiers.

At the time Samsung is saying that they might make some extra artificial intelligence features that are really good and people will have to pay for them later. Samsung is keeping this option open, for the intelligence add-ons.

Notice the structure:

The basic features that Samsung provides are free. You do not have to pay anything to use the features of Samsung. Samsung gives you these features at no cost.

You might have to pay for the Samsung artificial intelligence services. The new Samsung artificial intelligence services are going to be really good. They might cost you some money. If you want to use the Samsung artificial intelligence services you will have to pay for them. The Samsung artificial intelligence services are new. They are very good so you might have to pay to use them.

This is basically a plan where people get some things for other things they have to pay for. It is similar, to how other companies do things. They have a freemium roadmap too.

A default set of AI features included with the device

Optional subscriptions for heavier compute, larger models, or specialized tools

C) It separates the Samsung provided intelligence from the third party artificial intelligence. This means the Samsung artificial intelligence is different, from the party artificial intelligence.

This is something that a lot of people do not notice. Many people miss this thing. It is an one.

The Galaxy AI has some experiences that work with companies like Google to make them work. Samsung is clear that when other companies are involved in the AI the rules are different. This means Samsung cannot promise that these features will always be free because they do not have control over what they cost or how they are used. The Galaxy AI experiences that use companies, like Google are not completely controlled by Samsung.

Android Central said something tools made by other companies are not included in Samsungs promise that some things are free forever. Android Central made it clear that this promise only applies to things and tools, from other companies like third-party tools are not part of this deal. So when it comes to third-party tools the idea that they are free forever does not apply.

5) What features of this thing might we have to pay for, on?

Samsung did not come out with a price list, for the Galaxy AI subscription. They made a plan that will let them charge people for some things on. This plan is part of the rules and details of the product that Samsung is working on for the Galaxy AI subscription.

Based on Samsungs wording anything that is:

Not included in the “basic features provided by Samsung” list, and/or

Branded as “enhanced” or “new services,” and/or

Provided by a third party

…could potentially become paid.

So what does that probably mean when you actually do it.

A) The new Samsung features that use intelligence are really cool and they make the Samsung stuff better. Samsung artificial intelligence is what makes these features special. The Samsung artificial intelligence features are very useful and fun to use. Samsung is a company and their Samsung artificial intelligence is the best.

Samsung has some information on their website that says they might charge people for features or new services, in the future. This is what you can find on Samsungs pages. The language used by Samsung suggests that people will have to pay for these features or new services. Samsung is talking about offering these things on their pages.

So what things could be considered enhanced? I am thinking about this. I want to know what could qualify as enhanced. What are the things that could be seen as enhanced?

Typically, in AI product strategy, “enhanced” means:

Access to larger models (better quality, higher cost)

More generations/credits per month (images, videos, long summaries)

Faster processing (priority compute)

We have specialized workflows that include grade creative tools and high level transcription tools that big companies use. These specialized workflows are made up of -grade creative tools and enterprise-grade transcription tools.

Cross-device/cloud syncing of AI outputs

Samsung has not said what is on the list, for sure so we should think of these as ideas that might happen not things that Samsung has said they will do. We are talking about Samsung here.

B) Features from artificial intelligence systems that are not made by us these third-party AI features are things that other people have created. The third-party AI features can be very useful. Can help us do things better. We can use these third-party AI features to make our own things more powerful. These third-party AI features are, like tools that we can use to make our work easier.

Samsung makes a promise. It does not mean that Google has to follow it. If Google decides to change the rules for something that’s part of their system or if a company that makes artificial intelligence software starts charging for it Samsung can just say that this is something made by someone else and it has its own rules. Samsungs promise does not apply to this because it is a feature made by a company so different rules are in place, for this feature made by a different company.

Some reports use Circle to Search as an example of a feature that is tied to Google. Therefore it is not fully under Samsungs control. This means it is not part of Samsungs promise that some thingsre forever free. Samsung cannot do anything, about Circle to Search because it is tied to Google.

C) Device-bundled trials and bundles

When a feature is something that you have to pay for companies will often give it to you for free for a while when you buy a new device. You can look at what people’re saying about Galaxy AI to see how this works: companies will give you some things for free for a short time and some things, as a special offer so that you will want to pay for more things later on but you can still use the basic things for free.

6) Why did Samsung decide to make the statement that the basic version’s free forever official at this point in time? The company Samsung is making a deal about this idea that the basic version is free forever. This is something that Samsung is now saying loud. Samsung wants to make it clear that the basic version is free and it will stay that way. People who use Samsung products are probably wondering why Samsung is making such an announcement about this now. The fact that Samsung is saying the basic version is free forever is a big statement, from Samsung.

It seems weird that Samsung would update the notes at the bottom of the page without making a big deal about it.. When you think about it from Samsungs point of view this way of doing things is actually pretty smart, for Samsung.

A) Reducing upgrade hesitation

People really like it when new phones have Artificial Intelligence. If people think that important features of the phone will only be available for a fee after one or two years they might not want to buy it. This is especially true in places like India where people care a lot about getting a deal, for their money. Artificial Intelligence is a part of what makes these phones special so the thought of paying extra for Artificial Intelligence features later on can be a problem.

When Samsung says that the basic things are free it makes things easier, for people. This way Samsung can still make money from the features that people want later on. The idea that the basic things are free is simple. It helps.

B) Competitive pressure: Apple, Google, and everyone else

Samsung is in a three-way competitive environment:

Apple is really focusing on giving people an experience when they use their products. This means Apple wants everything to work together. Apple also talks a lot about how they care about peoples privacy. Apple says they want to keep the information of Apple users private.

Google is in charge of the Android intelligence direction, which includes things, like Gemini and how different services work together. Google is really guiding the Android intelligence stack.

Samsung needs to be different from companies but at the same time they have to work with Google and other companies like Google. This is important, for Samsung. Samsung has to do both things be different and work with Google and other companies.

Samsung says that the basic things you can do with their products will always be free. This means that Samsung is still a choice when compared to other companies that also offer features that use artificial intelligence without charging extra for them at least when you are just using the basic features. Samsung is competing with companies that have these artificial intelligence features, for free.

At the time the words “enhanced may be paid” mean that Samsung can still compete with other companies that offer paid artificial intelligence services. This keeps Samsungs options open. The company can do what it wants with Samsung intelligence services and it can charge people for them if it wants to just like other companies do with their paid artificial intelligence services. This is, about Samsung and its artificial intelligence services.

C) AI compute costs are real

So even if some things work a bit on your own device a lot of artificial intelligence services like the ones that make really good quality things or understand long recordings or figure out complicated problems still need to use the cloud to do their job. The thing is, using intelligence in the cloud can be really pricey when you are doing it a lot and the cost can go up and down depending on how many people are using it. Artificial intelligence services, like these still need the cloud to work properly.

Samsung’s new language is basically a compromise:

Protect the baseline set (to keep customers happy)

Monetize the heavy stuff later (to cover costs and create margin)

D) Regulatory and trust optics

The thing about Artificial Intelligence features is that they affect our privacy the way we create content and how accurate thingsre. For example Samsung has warnings on some of their pages in regions that say we should not completely trust the output. Artificial Intelligence features are really important here because they are what make all this possible. Artificial Intelligence features also have some problems. Samsung is trying to be honest about the reliability of Artificial Intelligence features by putting these warnings on their pages. This is, about Artificial Intelligence features and how they work.

When you are dealing with user data, such as calls and notes and transcripts trust really matters.

Locking the features behind a paywall after the customers have already built habits around the essential features can create a lot of backlash.

So it is very important to clarify that the essential features of the user data remain free.

This helps with trust in the user data. It also helps with brand stability, for the user data.

The essentials of the user data remain free. This is what builds trust in the user data.

7) What this means for Galaxy owners, in a sense is that it can affect them in their daily use of the Galaxy. The Galaxy owners will see some changes when they use their Galaxy. This is what it means for Galaxy owners when they are using their Galaxy.

Here’s how to interpret the update in day-to-day terms.

If you already use Galaxy AI tools like Live Translate Writing Assist, Note and Transcript Assist Browsing Assist Photo Assist then you are probably familiar with Galaxy AI tools. How they can help you with things like Live Translate and Writing Assist and other Galaxy AI tools such, as Note and Transcript Assist and Browsing Assist and Photo Assist.

You should expect

No sudden Samsung subscription requirement just to keep using those “basic” tools (as defined by Samsung’s terms).

If Samsung introduces a “Pro” editing feature or starts making models or comes out with new premium Artificial Intelligence services later the Samsung company will have these new things to offer. This means Samsung will have “editing, which is a good thing for people who like to edit things and bigger models, which is also a good thing for people who like bigger things and new premium Artificial Intelligence services, which is a good thing for people who like Artificial Intelligence services, from Samsung.

You should expect

Those things could be paid for in a different ways. You could pay for them with a subscription. You could buy them one time. Samsung says that is okay they allow for people to pay for things like that. The company even mentions that a credit system is also a possibility, for paying for those things.

When something is done with the help of another company that is a third-party thing if a feature is powered by another company that is also a third-party thing this means the feature is powered by another company, a third-party one.

You should expect

The price of something or whether it is available can change because of the rules of the partner that Samsung is working with. This is because Samsungs promise does not always include these things. Samsungs promise does not necessarily cover the rules of the partner.

If you are looking to buy a Samsung phone

This is news because it helps with the cost of the baseline AI bundle in the future. It is also what Samsung wants to do with its products. Samsung wants to put intelligence in more of its products. The baseline AI bundle is a thing for Samsung and this news is good, for the baseline AI bundle.

8) How to verify on your own device (without guessing)

To be totally sure what Samsung thinks is basic now you should do this:

You should look at Samsungs Galaxy AI pages or their support pages to see the exact words they use in your area. For example Samsung US says that the basic things they give you are free and they tell you to look at the intelligence section, for more information. This is what Samsung US has on their website.

Look for references to Samsung Services Terms and Conditions → “Advanced intelligence” as the defining list.

Remember that what features are available can be different depending on the type of device you have and where you are. You also need to have a version of One UI on your device like One UI 6.1 or later to use many of these features.

9) What is going to happen with Galaxy AI in the future I mean the picture, where Galaxy AI is headed next

The Samsung company is doing more with Artificial Intelligence. This is getting bigger not smaller. Samsung is really working hard on Artificial Intelligence and Samsung is making sure that Artificial Intelligence is a part of what Samsung does.

I just read a report from Axios that says Samsung is going to add intelligence to all of its smartphones that come out in 2026. This means Samsung will have a lot smartphones with artificial intelligence. Samsung smartphones with intelligence will be everywhere, in 2026.

Samsung is working on making Bixby at the same time. They are also trying to improve the intelligence that Bixby uses to help people. This means Samsung is still putting money into making Bixby a better assistant. They want Bixby to be able to do things for people. Samsung is investing in Bixby improvements. Making the artificial intelligence stronger.

The idea that the basic things will always be free and the premium things might cost money on is consistent, with that expansion.

You do not want to charge for the baseline if you want a lot of people to use it. The baseline should be free if you want adoption of the baseline. This way more people will be able to use the baseline.

If you want to make money from something for a time you do need to have optional premium tiers for the people who are willing to pay more for extra features. This is really important, for long-term monetization of the product or service which’s the premium tiers.

10) Final summary

Samsungs updated fine print basically says it loud now:

The Galaxy AI has some features that are provided by Samsung and these will always be free. The Galaxy AI basic features, from Samsung will stay free forever.

Samsung says what they mean by “basic”, in the list called ” intelligence” that you can find in the Samsung Services Terms and Conditions. They use this list to explain what “means.

Samsung is saying that they might add some special artificial intelligence features on that people will have to pay for. They are also making it clear that if people use artificial intelligence features, from companies those companies might have their own rules and might charge people money to use them. Samsung is talking about artificial intelligence features that could be added to their products in the future and how these artificial intelligence features might work.

So the fear that “your current Galaxy AI tools will suddenly stop working unless you subscribe” has been meaningfully reduced—while Samsung still keeps a pathway to monetize next-gen AI capabilities later.