Samsung's Galaxy AI subscription is dead before it's even arrived

Samsung had never made it a secret that it intended to make people pay for Galaxy AI, but two years after launch and a year later than its previous deadline, I'd assumed it had forgotten all about it.

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Alas, it had not, and less than a week ago, details of a Galaxy AI subscription plan were leaked. According to those plans, three tiers of paid subscription will be available, with different levels of Galaxy AI access for each.

It seems like a terrible idea. Not because Galaxy AI is bad, but because it's already been forgotten.

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Why should you pay for Galaxy AI?

You can get better AI tools elsewhere

Since the leak came out only a few days ago, we've gotten clear confirmation from Samsung about the details. After all, the cat was already out of the bag, so why not?

Galaxy AI will be split into three tiers: Starter, Plus, and Pro. Each tier includes access to a number of new Galaxy AI Premium features.

Bixby Action supposedly turns the digital assistant into an agent of sorts and will allow it to automate everyday tasks based on command triggers and routines. This is the most exclusive new feature, and will only unlock at the highest tier of Galaxy AI.

Daily Briefing is the next new feature, and it will be separate from the similarly named Now Brief. It unlocks at the Plus tier, and as things stand, I have no idea what this feature is meant to do.

Finally, and seemingly available with any subscription level, are video generations from still images, larger AI usage limits, and access to "Galaxy Claw," which seems to be a version of OpenClaw. I have no idea how it differs from Bixby Action.

This selection falls into a trap I've seen in many AI subscriptions: it offers very little for ordinary people.

Some people will get excited about the capabilities offered by Bixby Action, Galaxy Claw, and the rest. But I still think those people are a minority of smartphone users — and, more importantly, they're probably already paying for another service.

Nothing that Galaxy AI offers isn't already being offered by a rival service. Some very well-established rival services, to boot.

Anyone who cares about this sort of thing is already paying for Gemini, ChatGPT, or Claude. Nobody was waiting for Samsung to make its move before getting involved in heavy-duty AI.

It won't be long before the more popular features follow

This is just the beginning

On the plus side, everything you enjoy about Galaxy AI right now will remain free.

So if you enjoy using Now Brief, Samsung Notes, Voice Recorder, and Gallery's AI features, you can continue using them even after the subscription starts.

But will it stay that way forever?

Samsung is only barring new features behind the Galaxy AI subscription, but it remains to be seen whether that will stay the case.

For a start, the features locked behind Galaxy AI aren't very good. There's not much to get excited about, and those who are probably get their kicks elsewhere.

But AI is expensive. It's really expensive, and companies need to get their investment back somewhere. So, if the Galaxy AI subscription doesn't work as Samsung hopes, I fear Samsung will respond by putting older, more popular features behind the subscription.

We're already seeing some elements of this with the launch of Samsung "AI credit packs." Separate from the Galaxy AI subscription, these one-time purchases last for three years and offer tiers of access to image generation, text summarization, and language translations.

Again, we're not sure how these work, but it's not hard to see this extending to more of Galaxy AI's currently free services.

But this might end up being a bigger problem for Samsung than for anyone else. Because ultimately, it seems nobody actually cares about Galaxy AI.

But nobody actually seems to care

Two years on, and I sometimes forget Galaxy AI exists

The real nail in Galaxy AI's coffin is that nobody cares.

Strangely, it's a good sign for your business if putting up paywalls causes everyone to explode with horror. Because it shows that enough people care about your product to have a strong opinion.

Unfortunately for Samsung, it appears that nobody minds the Galaxy AI subscription because nobody cares about Galaxy AI.

Just check out the Reddit thread for the initial leak. Nobody is angry, and nobody is saying they'll move to another AI service. Instead, they're cracking jokes and, most damningly, discussing the services they actually use.

That's the worst thing that could possibly have happened to Galaxy AI. Because the lack of outrage shows that nobody cares, and the subscription is dead before it's even been released.