[Updated] Bixby Marketplace opens up for developers and their Bixby Capsules

Original story follows

The Bixby Marketplace announced by Samsung along with Bixby Capsules last year appears to be open for developers. With the Marketplace going live, third-party Bixby Studio developers finally have a way of submitting their Bixby Capsules before they'll reach the users.

Described by the company as “a central repository for Bixby’s Capsules,” Bixby Marketplace is the gateway connecting third-party developers with end users, but it is not the actual storefront for Capsules.

Developers will need to go through a submission process on the Bixby Marketplace. They can also opt for private submissions in order to perform on-device testing before their Capsules go live. Once a Capsule is approved in the public channel, it will become available for download by Bixby users.

What are Bixby Capsules?

Bixby Capsules are skills for Samsung’s smart assistant, and you can think of Amazon Alexa skills as a direct comparison. For third-party developers, they open up new possibilities to bringing their APIs into the Bixby experience. Capsules have been around for developers in the Bixby Developer Studio since last year and we’re hoping that developers have tinkered with the concept and already created new skills for the platform.

For end-users, they should expand the capabilities of Bixby with new voice commands, and essentially make Bixby a more customizable smart assistant with the addition of new skills from the marketplace. Essentially, Bixby’s vocabulary, knowledge base, and interactivity will grow thanks to these third-party creations.

When will you be able to download Bixby Capsules?

At the moment, the Bixby Developer Center has been updated with the necessary information for third-party developers to submit their Capsules. The latest Bixby update, meanwhile, brings the Marketplace to folks in the US, but it's unclear how it looks or works as we do not currently have any US-based team members.

But if you live stateside, you can help us out with a few screenshots of the Bixby Marketplace from your Galaxy device by sending an email to our email addresses mentioned here. You will have to grab the latest Bixby update from the Galaxy Store (tap the three-dot button on the top right, select My Page, and then select Update to see all the updates available) and then open Bixby by pressing the Bixby key (swipe right from the first home screen) to see the Marketplace section.

Thanks to Alex for the screenshots!