Samsung Actively Pursues AI Partnerships to Regain Smartphone Market Leadership
Samsung is aggressively pursuing strategic artificial intelligence partnerships with technology leaders as it positions AI as the crucial new battleground in its ongoing competition with Apple for global smartphone market supremacy. The Korean technology giant's consumer device chief has confirmed the company is actively seeking "strategic co-operation" with prominent AI firms including OpenAI, marking a significant shift in its competitive strategy.
Market Position Reversal Creates Urgency
This strategic pivot comes after Samsung lost its long-standing position as the world's leading smartphone shipper to Apple last year for the first time in fourteen years. Industry data reveals Apple was projected to ship approximately 243 million phones during 2025, while Samsung was forecast to reach 235 million units. This surprising market reversal pushed Apple's smartphone market share to 19.4 percent, narrowly outperforming Samsung's 18.7 percent share.
The success of Apple's iPhone 17 model proved particularly influential in driving this market shift, creating renewed urgency within Samsung's leadership to develop innovative competitive advantages.
AI as the New Competitive Frontier
TM Roh, Samsung's head of consumer devices, emphasized in an interview with the Financial Times that establishing partnerships with artificial intelligence companies will be absolutely crucial to the company's expansion plans as it seeks to regain control of the global smartphone market. "We got into the preparation earlier than others," Roh explained, "that is how we have taken and maintained leadership in mobile AI."
Roh highlighted that modern consumers are increasingly demanding a comprehensive suite of AI options from their smartphones rather than relying on a single platform or provider. While Apple has been slower to roll out many of the AI features it announced last year, Samsung believes it is leading the industry in providing customers with greater choice and diversity of AI tools.
Multi-Platform AI Strategy
"Consumers are not bound to one AI platform, they are utilising multiple AI models," Roh stated. "We are open to all solutions. Choice, I believe, is how Galaxy AI appeals to consumers." This philosophy has already manifested in Samsung's product development, with the company recently unveiling its S26 device range featuring a voice assistant powered by AI start-up Perplexity.
The Korean technology firm already offers Google's Gemini AI model across its devices, including innovative functions that allow users to book taxis entirely hands-free through voice commands. Interestingly, Apple has also established a partnership to utilize Google Gemini technology, and last year entered negotiations with OpenAI's ChatGPT to upgrade its struggling Siri voice assistant, indicating both companies recognize the strategic importance of AI partnerships.
Samsung's proactive approach to artificial intelligence collaboration represents a significant strategic investment as the smartphone industry enters what many analysts are calling "the AI era," where device capabilities and user experiences will increasingly be defined by artificial intelligence integration rather than traditional hardware specifications alone.
