The virtual assistant wars is about to get bigger as Samsung has just announced that it’s upcoming phone, the Samsung Galaxy S8, will be launched with its own AI—Bixby.
In a blog post by Injong Rhee, Samsung’s head of research and development for Software and Services, it was said that Bixby will be an intelligent interface on the company’s devices. Rhee detailed the three things that set Bixby apart from other virtual assistants such as Siri, Cortana, and Alexa, saying that Samsung's new AI offers a more satisfactory experience due to its completeness, context awareness, and cognitive tolerance.
Rhee said that when an app becomes Bixby-enabled, the AI will be able to support every task that the application is capable of performing using touch commands. Users can also use Bixby through voice commands.
While other AIs require users to state the exact commands for the virtual assistant to be able to complete the task, Bixby is said to be smart enough to understand commands with incomplete information and will execute the task to the best of its knowledge. If it needs more direction, Bixby will prompt users to provide more information and “take the execution of the task in piecemeal.”
Upcoming Samsung smartphones will have a dedicated Bixby button on the side of the device to make it easier for users to activate and command the AI.
Rhee also confirmed that the Galaxy S8, which will be launched later this month, will come with pre-installed applications that are Bixby-enabled. The initial set will expand over time. After Bixby is applied to Samsung smartphones, it will be gradually made available to all of the company’s appliances.
With the inclusion of Bixby in the Galaxy S8, Samsung is sending out a message to the tech world that it is ready to take on Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Microsoft’s Cortana. It also signifies a brand new start for the South Korean company as it moves on from its disastrous Galaxy Note 7, which was launched last year.
As for the Samsung Galaxy S8’s exact release date, rumors claim that the phone, together with the Galaxy S8 Plus, will go on sale on April 21 in the US, according to Recombu. The phones are said to be officially unveiled on March 29.
For more, check out Jobs & Hire’s update on the Samsung Galaxy S8.
