Bixby 2.0 transforms basic digital assistants into an intelligence tool, says Samsung

It’s the first day of Samsung’s Developer Conference in San Francisco and it’s kicking things off with a couple of announcements, the first of which is Bixby 2.0, the latest version of the firm’s digital assistant.

Bixby 2.0 is, according to Samsung, a “bold reinvention” of the Bixby platform. It’s supposed to transform basic digital assistants from a novelty to an intelligence tool—and it sounds like it’ll do just that.

Taking advantage of the firm’s new SmartThings Cloud platform, Bixby 2.0 is ubiquitous, meaning it can be used to control your entire device ecosystem, including everything from refrigerators to washing machines.

Designed to overcome the relationship errors users of Bixby 1.0 experienced, the latest build features enhanced natural language capabilities, so it can understand not only who you are, but also who members of your family are.

Last, but not least, Samsung has created an SDK for developers, which will let them determine how Bixby can be used to control their applications. We’re expecting some pretty exciting things in that area.

When will Bixby 2.0 arrive?

Overall, it’s a nice upgrade that addresses issues users have been complaining about for a while now. Exactly when Bixby 2.0 will start making the rounds remains unknown, though we’re guessing it’ll start making the rounds by the end of the year.