Samsung’s very own voice assistant system named Bixby seems ready for prime time action. Launched earlier as part of the S8 and S8+ package, the software feature, however, lacked its voice capability.
It is this that has been remedied via a software update, which though is available only in the United States as of now. Bixby so far was available in its entirety only in the Korean language in South Korea. Users there will still have the option to download the English version if they so like. There is no word though when it is going to be launched in other countries.
Meanwhile, with the new found capability, Bixby now comes across as a complete package, chipping in with tasks which include even reading out your email or text messages. Those, of course, are in addition to the more mundane tasks it has been capable of already, like reminding you of any upcoming events and such. It can even identify objects from images, which shows the advanced image recognition features that it comes with.
Another extremely likeable feature of Bixby is its ability to manipulate even third-party apps. Those include making changes to the setting of supported apps or influence other features. For instance, you can simply ask Bixby to change the destination on Google Maps, something that even Google Assistant isn’t capable of at the moment.
Samsung said its Bixby voice assistant has already dealt with over 4 million voice commands by the more than 100,000 users that have so far been part of the beta test program. All of that has endowed the assistant with valuable information on how to respond to user’s commands. Or better still; develop a better understanding of what users actually want.
Samsung also stated the deep learning technologies that have gone into the making of Bixby should further allow it to have a good idea of the user’s preference, a way of functioning, talking style and such as the feature is put to more use. As things stand at the moment, Bixby is already able to cater to user’s queries even if the same is put through using different phrases or words.
Also, as with competing for voice assistants such as Cortana, Alexa, Google or Siri, it is Hi Bixby that you need to speak to your device to gain its attention. That is already a crowded segment, which means one has to be really spot on in its functioning to remain in the reckoning. Bixby will also be required to be unleashed in more regions worldwide given that the others, except for Alexa, is already a pan world phenomenon. Let’s just hope that happens soon enough.
