Samsung and LG might be cooking up a special phone but you won’t be able to buy it

Key Takeaways

• LG and Samsung are collaborating on an AI-focused smartphone featuring LG’s ixi-O assistant and Samsung’s Galaxy AI.
• The phone, possibly called the Galaxy ixi-O, will target South Korean users and might not launch globally.
• It is expected to debut alongside the Galaxy S25 in January 2025.

The smartphone market is tough, and LG learned that the hard way in 2021 when it decided to exit the phone business. Once a major player in the smartphone industry, the company struggled with poor reviews and failed to attract a big customer base. Since then, the South Korean brand has shifted its focus to displays and other ventures. And while a full comeback to the phone market seems unlikely for the company, a special LG phone might be on the horizon — this time in collaboration with Samsung.

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LG’s telecom arm, LG Uplus, has teamed up with Samsung to develop a smartphone focused on AI, specifically an AI-based voice assistant called ixi-O, according to The Korean Economic Daily (via Sammobile). The two companies aim to make a “real AI phone” that goes beyond simply integrating AI assistant services into a smartphone. LG introduced ixi-O earlier this month as a personal AI agent that’s only available in Korea. It can answer calls, detect voice phishing in real-time, record and summarize calls, and turn voice conversations into text—all while running directly on the device.

The new AI smartphone might be called the Galaxy ixi-O and will focus on combining LG Uplus's AI call assistant, ixi-O, with Samsung’s AI service, Galaxy AI. It could be exclusive to LG Uplus users at first, but similar AI services are expected to roll out to other mobile carriers in South Korea later. Don’t get your hopes up if you’re outside Korea, though. This phone probably won’t make it to the US or other global markets.

The AI phone might launch with Galaxy S25

LG and Samsung are likely to showcase the phone alongside the Galaxy S25 series, which is reported to launch next year on January 22. The AI phone is expected to hit the market by Q1 2025. LG is also preparing to reveal more about its AI-focused business expansion at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona next March.

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