Samsung just confirmed its next generation of foldable smartphones will launch with One UI 9, bringing Google’s newly announced Gemini Intelligence framework along for the ride.

But while the standard One UI 9 update is heading to a wide range of Galaxy devices, the flashy new AI tricks are getting locked behind a steep hardware cutoff.

The 12GB RAM Threshold

To actually use Gemini Intelligence, your phone needs a minimum of 12GB of RAM. Samsung is drawing a hard line in the sand to ensure its devices don't choke when crunching heavy AI workloads on-device.

This strict memory requirement means those who don't make the cut will miss out on heavy-duty tools like real-time video generation, advanced on-device conversational agents, and instant complex image manipulation. Instead, they will just receive the standard, AI-lite One UI 9 interface update.

Strategic Ecosystem Split

This hardware mandate creates a massive divide in the Galaxy ecosystem. If you buy one of the upcoming foldables, you will experience the full, uncompromised suite of Google’s AI framework right out of the box.

However, this is going to be a tough pill to swallow for anyone who recently dropped a small fortune on a premium flagship that falls just shy of that 12GB mark. Booting up the exact same version of the operating system only to find yourself locked out of its marquee features is a fast track to user frustration.