New year, new Galaxy S26 series, but same old problem: If AI can’t be of any real use, I don’t want it on my smartphone. Luckily for me and for you, Samsung just convinced me it knows how to handle AI, at least with its newest feature.
During Wednesday’s Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung introduced the next generation of its tech, including the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Ultra and Galaxy Buds 4. Like every event from a big tech company over the past three years, AI was everywhere.
When it comes to AI integration on smartphones, I tend to be skeptical. Almost immediately after upgrading to the iPhone 16, I turned off the camera control button because I knew I was never going to use its pathway into Visual Intelligence. I’m not alone — only 11% of US smartphone owners upgrade their devices to get access to new AI features, a CNET survey found last year. Just 13% use AI for writing and even fewer use it for photo editing. But one Galaxy AI-powered feature caught my attention, promising an elusive quality among AI software: Usefulness.
Call screening is new to the Galaxy S26 series. It lets AI answer unknown phone calls for you. Galaxy AI picks up the phone, summarizes the call and gives you the rundown so you can decide whether or not you want to answer the call yourself. It’s so much more convenient than ignoring the call and having to muddle through the voicemail later.
This feels like it would be an especially useful defense against spammers and telemarketers who buy your phone number online to sell you fake Medicare supplementary plans or warn you that your car insurance is expiring.
Scammers are a huge problem, thanks in part to the advancement of AI. There are a lot of solutions in the works, with phone companies focusing on boosting their call screening and spam reporting tools to help. Google added similar AI-powered spam-fighting tools to Android last year, and it’s about time that Samsung followed suit.
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A lot of AI feels useless. Chatbots are basically fancier search engines that are less accurate and use more energy. AI image and video generators have helped flood the internet with AI slop, filling social media with bizarre videos and hyperrealistic deepfakes. Even parts of Galaxy AI feel like needless add-ons rather than features providing real value. But call screening is one of the best examples of how AI should be deployed: Thoughtfully, and limited to a concrete purpose.
We’ve moved beyond the general shock and awe of AI on smartphones. In 2026, I want to see more features like this — not slop machines and unnecessary bloatware to follow the trends, but ones that actually make my life easier.
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