Samsung confirms the Galaxy S8 will have a digital assistant
When Samsung announced the acquisition of Viv Labs, a startup founded by the creators of Siri, a few weeks ago we started hearing rumors that the company will use Viv Labs’ technology to build an artificial intelligence digital assistant for the Galaxy S8. We later came to know that it might be called Bixby. Prior to the company’s confirmation, we actually sent out a tweet confirming that version 1.0 of Bixby will indeed be present on the Galaxy S8 a.k.a Project Dream. Without going into the specifics, Samsung has confirmed that it’s next flagship smartphone is going to feature a digital assistant.
Samsung will start by integrating the startup’s artificial intelligence platform called Viv into its Galaxy smartphone before expanding it to products like wearable devices and home appliances. It’s going to use this platform to offer a host of functionality and different services to users but Samsung is yet to confirm what type of services will be offered through its digital assistant.
The company has said that users will be able to seamlessly access third-party services through the assistant. “Developers can attach and upload services to our agent,” said Samsung Executive Vice President Rhee Injong, adding that “Even if Samsung doesn’t do anything on its own, the more services that get attached the smarter this agent will get, learn more new services and provide them to end-users with ease.”
Samsung is now firmly in the digital assistant race where companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon have already achieved a great deal. It’s starting out quite slow which is why the company has said that it’s looking to make further acquisitions in order to bolster its position in the areas of artificial intelligence and other related software.
Samsung Bixby V1.0 (Project Dream = S8).
— SamMobile (@SamMobiles) November 3, 2016
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This may well be a first step towards ditching Google services and the fractured Android OS that cannot even keep up with OEM versions. What does Nougat bring us? Multi-window, VR support, vulkan game support? Yawwnn!! I for one would not miss Android once we have a comparable App Store.
Will you be able to turn it OFF ??
of course, what smartphone will force you to use an assistant
Winner of the stupid question competition. 🙂
Who confirmed what? Sammobile confirmed that Samsung is going to include it in the S8?
And s7 edge would get it…
Probably not, but let’s cross the fingers.
Guys, Samsung is right, google is using their power in market to force the other companies to use google’s service. what they will do in future ? Charge Samsung for their services ? make everyone uses google’s apps ? I love google, but come on! Use your mind, if you had a company by yourself would your prefer to be a prisoner of other company ? No! I would develop my own services and by the way that is good for the consumers, not everything that google does is pure gold and I don’t like the idea one company in… Read more »
This is probably gonna take 4 years or so before it’s at Google’s assistant potential. It’s such a shame they didn’t work with what Google has already. Samsungs software is already very different to stock android. With this additional piece of new software – which is likely to be huge. The possibility of keeping up with Android updates seems almost impossible. Samsung have always done stuff new and differently, I’m hoping then that Bixby will be something greater than Siri or even Alexa
S7 edge will get bixby with update ?
I hope so
But, but, but what about S-Voice?!?!?
As much as I love Samsung.. i hate their strategy of having multiple duplicate apps. One from Google and other home bred. Instead of having Viv (Bixby), why couldn’t they get into agreement with Google to get Google’s new assistant. That one is amazing on Allo and will work great outside Allo. Having its own assistant means to rely on 3rd partu devs to integrate their apps, whereas their won’t be any such issue with Google’s AI. Android says “Be together. Not same”. Samsung has already carved a niche by being the best and different Android OEM. But for few… Read more »
Not necessarily. Long term goal is probably to ditch Google and Android. Given how fragmented it is now it would be a good idea.