Samsung To Roll Out Paid Subscription For Galaxy Smartphones Next Month

Samsung will soon roll out a paid subscription for its AI-powered Galaxy smartphones. The service, dubbed the ‘AI Subscription Club’, will be available from next month.

According to a report by ETNews, Samsung Electronics Vice-Chairman Han Jong-hee confirmed that the subscription service will be applicable to Galaxy smartphones and the company’s AI robot Ballie. “Ballie will be introduced first in Korea and the US, and we plan to supply it as a subscription in Korea,” he said.

The subscription service is not mandatory to access the Galaxy AI features on Samsung smartphones and other devices. Earlier, the company had stated that the Galaxy AI features would remain free to users until the end of 2025, without any further confirmation beyond that date.

The AI Subscription Club was launched in December 2024 in South Korea for select home appliances, and it will now be available for Galaxy smartphones and Ballie AI robot. With a monthly subscription, users can access AI-powered TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, and more. The subscription also includes repair and maintenance services.

However, Samsung has not revealed if the subscription service will be expanded beyond South Korea. Samsung may reveal more details on the service at the Galaxy Unpacked Event, scheduled to take place on January 22, 2025, at San Jose.

Samsung will launch the Galaxy S25 series lineup - Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra - at the unpacked event. The tech giant will also unveil One UI 7 apart from the smartphones.

The Galaxy Unpacked event will be live-streamed on Samsung’s YouTube channel and on Samsung.com at 11:30 p.m. IST.