Why a Galaxy AI paywall would drive me away from Samsung's AI features

Published Nov 15, 2026, 8:45 AM EST Jon Gilbert is a technology journalist with five years of experience covering mobile technology. He's covered smartwatches, tablets, smartphones, and Android accessories. He's attended CES to explore unique hardware like the Pebble Round 2 or Mudita Kompakt. His daily mobile tech life revolves around Pixel devices, which he has used since the Pixel 2 XL. Jon loves exploring the latest Android features, but is highly sceptical of anything related AI. One of the more controversial aspects of Galaxy AI's 2024 launch (besides its uselessness) was that Samsung would only keep Galaxy AI free for a limited time. However, Samsung quietly postponed the December 2025 deadline, and Galaxy AI remained free for everyone. But recent reports indicate that Samsung is preparing an AI Premium subscription, and if Google's AI subscription is anything to go by, I guarantee I'll be using Galaxy AI less. What we know about a Galaxy AI Premium subscription Usage limits and 'premium' features A report from Sammy Guru revealed placeholder images and code strings that suggested Samsung is preparing and testing a new AI Premium subscription. This subscription will give Galaxy AI users more access to existing and new features. According to the reports, the free plan will include the following features, labeled as "Standard AI": Smart Capture Samsung Keyboard Photo Assist Personal Agent Browsing Assist Now Brief Creative Studio Currently, these features offer unlimited access, with a couple of small exceptions. However, when AI Premium launches, they will be subject to usage limits. To increase this limit, users can subscribe to a premium plan for four times the access or buy a credit pack top-up. The subscription plan is hinted at costing $4.99 a month or $47.99 a year. On top of extra usage, the premium subscription will grant access to the following features: Gen Video Bixby Action Daily Briefing A later report from SamMobile found that Samsung might be testing different subscription tiers. Overall, it seems like Samsung is trying to recoup its losses by charging users. But when it's not offering much to begin with, why would anyone pay? Certainly not me. Galaxy AI already struggles to offer value What exists that's worth paying for? It's been two years since Samsung graced us with Galaxy AI, and since then it has received a host of upgrades. But is it useful? In September 2025, Samsung revealed which AI tools in its Galaxy AI suite are the most popular. Ironically, the top feature was Circle to Search, a Google feature that Samsung can't lock behind a paywall. The next most popular feature was Photo Assist, which appears on Samsung's list of "Standard AI" features it will add usage limits to. After you take a photo on a supported Galaxy phone, Photo Assist suggests a selection of edits to improve your photos. These suggestions can range from simple crops to generative AI tweaks. The problem is that while these suggestions can be useful, Samsung slaps a visible watermark on any images it edits. You can implement the suggestions yourself, but there isn't much to them beyond what a basic photography guide can teach you. Then there's Now Brief. It's impressive how Samsung has barely managed to improve this feature. Every time I see it, it tells me something like "It's raining. Bring an umbrella." Unless you live in a house without windows, its weather reports are completely irrelevant. Then there are the random news articles and health information. None of this information needs an AI to power it. In short, Galaxy AI is a gimmick, and if I'm forced to pay to use it, I'll just stop using it altogether. Google's premium AI features still go unused I certainly won't renew my AI Pro subscription when it expires When I bought my Pixel 10 Pro last year, Google generously gave me a one-year trial of Google AI Pro. Through this subscription, I got four times higher access to Gemini, plus access to Gemini 4 Argon and Deep Research. Then there was Gemini in Workspace apps, expanded access to Gemini Notebook, Google Flow, and more. Nearly a year later, I use none of these features regularly, and I haven't come close to hitting the increased Gemini access. Gemini has made a mess of summarizing my documents so many times that I'd rather pay Google not to show it while I'm working. Samsung seems to be modeling its AI Premium subscription after Google's AI Pro plans. But at the end of the day, all the useful features (like Circle to Search) remain free, and all the gimmicks are locked behind a paywall. Google hasn't figured out how to add value to its AI plans for everyday users, so what chance does Samsung have? I suspect extended free access was to encourage slow adoption rates Samsung never revealed why it kept postponing the end of free Galaxy AI access, but I suspect it was to lock as many people in to using the features. The idea of getting people used to a free tier to encourage adoption of a paid feature is nothing new. But when Galaxy AI is still such poor value, I certainly won't be paying Samsung a penny to use its "premium" AI features.