Samsung started rolling out the Android 10 beta for the Galaxy S9/S9+ today and for the Note 9 last week in select markets. Predictably, the update brings many of the new features that Samsung debuted on its newer devices launched this year, like Night mode for the front-facing camera. There is, however, one nifty little feature that is absent from the Android 10 beta for last year’s flagships.
The current beta releases for both the Galaxy S9 and Note 9 are missing Bixby Routines. For those unaware, Bixby Routines is Samsung’s version of IFTTT and the popular Android app Tasker that helps users automate many repetitive and mundane tasks based on pre-set conditions (a few good examples of which can be found here). The feature made its debut on the Galaxy S10 and was later seen on a few other Galaxy devices, including mid-range phones like the Galaxy A50.
We currently don’t know if this is going to be ‘fixed' in the next beta update or whether Samsung has decided not to bring Bixby Routines to previous flagships at all. If it’s the latter, then it is safe to assume the feature will not be available for last year’s mid-range and budget devices, either. Considering this is not a hardware-dependent feature, there is some room to be optimistic.
Ironically, among all the Bixby-related functions, Bixby Routines is perhaps the most useful feature, one that many find genuinely helpful. For a company that is trying to force its customers to use Bixby, it would be a strange decision not to offer the one feature that many customers might actually use. Hopefully, the Korean company will bring Bixby Routines to the Galaxy S9/S9+, Note 9, and all other older devices by the time the stable version of One UI 2.0 starts rolling out.
