Tag: Bixby

Samsung Will Finally Allow Users To Remap The Bixby Button

Samsung has time and again proved its hardware prowess with its flagship smartphones. The devices offer cutting-edge design and features but they always had an Achilles heel, their software. The software that the company provides with the handsets has not always fared well with the audience. Introducing Bixby in 2017 made their problems worse as they gave users a voice assistant they didn’t ask for. The company also added a non-remappable button to the mix, making problems worse. But Samsung has announced that its flagships running Samsung’s latest OneUI will get an option to remap the infamous Bixby Button.

Samsung Bixby Remapping

Samsung recently started updating its yesteryear’s flagships to Android Pie based OneUI. These devices include the Galaxy S8 and S8+, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S9 and S9+ and Galaxy Note 9. These devices are also set to get the option to remap the Bixby Button to a third party app. The option is currently only available in the latest Galaxy S10 series of smartphones. Notably, the Bixby button works via three methods, a single press, a double press and a long press on the button activates the voice assistant. After the update, it will be possible to remap it to a third party app using any of the above functions. For example, if you set a single press on the button to open the camera, a double and a long press would still activate Bixby.

Also Read: HTC Announces The Vive Focus Plus With Revamped Motion Controllers

Samsung’s decision to allow the Bixby button to be remapped may come as a reason to rejoice for many users. It is expected to make using the company’s flagships convenient by providing the ability to remap the button to any app. Bixby as a voice assistant has not seen the popularity that Samsung may have expected it to be. According to a study, the users of the assistant are as low as 4% in the US. Unfortunately, the company has not provided any information about the timeline of the update for older devices, but it is expected to arrive in a few weeks.

February 22, 2019
Samsung Galaxy Home To Be Launched By April 2019

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Home smart speakers last year during the announcement of the Galaxy Note 9. Not just that, the speaker was also displayed at the Samsung Developer Conference even though the company abstained from making any statement on its official launch. During the Galaxy Unpacked 2019 event, Samsung has revealed that the Smart speakers will be available for purchase in the month of April this year.

Features

The Galaxy Home would compete with similar smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home. Talking about voice assistants, Amazon Echo has Alexa integration while the Google Home uses Google Assistant. The smart speaker from Samsung will have the Bixby Voice Assistant. The sound quality is tuned by AKG, which was acquired by Samsung in 2017. The Galaxy Home can also be used as a smart hub for keeping tabs on the gadgets that are compatible with the platform.

Bixby Integration

According to Samsung, Galaxy Home is the only AI speaker that will transmit a wave of sound directly towards you when you communicate with the device. This means that the user will experience surround sound irrespective of their position in the room. It packs 6 different speakers and one subwoofer, all of which are housed in the same unit. Furthermore, the Galaxy Home also has 8 microphones with integrated ‘far-field’ technology. Users can say “Hi Bixby” from across the room and communicate with the smart speaker.

Also Read: Elon Musk Promises Tesla Will Release Full Autonomous Driving Feature This Year

Surveys show that Bixby is used by only 4 percent of users in the US. In comparison, 44 percent of users use Siri and almost 30 percent have the Google Assistant as their primary voice assistant. Agreed, it’s a good-looking speaker, but Samsung may have to step out of the box a bit with the Galaxy Home.

February 21, 2019
Samsung To Launch QLED TVs On March 7th

Samsung is known for its signature TVs with the OLED panel. However, the company is slowly shifting towards the Quantum Dot technology. In fact, the company announced a couple of Smart TVs based on QLED technology at CES 2018. On March 7th, 2018, the company is expected to launch few more models of mainstream TVs using Quantum Dot technology.

Samsung is all set to launch the next generation Smart TV series in New York at the American Stock Exchange in Manhattan. The company is expected to launch 8K resolution smart TVs. In fact, Samsung showcased a TV with 8K resolution at CES 2018.

Features of 2018 QLED Samsung TVs

A report from Korea stated that the 2018 QLED TVs features will be centred on the Bixby. The TVs will be AI driven based on Samsung’s SmartThings technology. The Bixby will be used for the effortless content discovery and sharing. However, we are yet to see the implementation of Bixby on a TV platform.

Conclusion

The Samsung 2018 QLED TV series will showcase the power of the smart TV with an AI-enabled operating system. However, these TVs will be priced at a premium price tag.

March 1, 2018
Samsung Might Launch A HomePod Competitor In 2018

Smart home tech is the new thing and tech giants like Google and Amazon already have a vast variety of products to offer in this segment. Apple unveiled its HomePod back in June and it was slated to be launched in December 2017 but, its release has now been pushed to early-2018. To compete with the HomePod and possibly the Google Home Max, Samsung will be launching it Bixby-powered smart speaker in early-2018 as well.

Apple HomePod Powered By Siri

Sources briefed on the plans tell Bloomberg that Samsung’s smart speaker “will have a strong focus on audio quality and the management of connected home appliances such as lights and locks.”

Like a lot of smart speakers, beyond just playing music and syncing up with your phone, the Samsung speaker will also join the SmartThings ecosystem. The report did not include any further details, but theoretically, you will be able to talk to your Samsung speaker to turn on lights, set the temperature in your home and more.

Amazon Echo Powered By Alexa

Although the pricing and availability of the speaker are still not confirmed, Samsung is said to be targeting somewhere around US $200 for the price point of the smart speaker. That would place it in between of the US $100 Amazon Echo and the $349 HomePod that Apple will release early next year.

December 15, 2017
Samsung’s New Acquisition Proves AI Is The Next Big Thing In Smartphones

In the smartphone industry, every year sees a new trend becoming the norm. 2017 saw thin bezels becoming a norm and with the launch of the Google Pixel 2 and Apple iPhone X, it appears that AI will be the next big thing in the smartphone industry. With Samsung being the biggest smartphone maker in the world, you’d expect the South Korean tech giant to be one of front-runners in the AI game as well.

A new acquisition by Samsung shows that it wants Bixby to be the new Google Assistant for all its consumers. According to a report, Samsung has just acquired an AI property, Fluenty, a Korean startup notable for its chatbot of the same name.

Founded in 2015, Fluenty company currently develops a dedicated app and a separate “smart reply” API. The app uses machine learning to give custom response to users and is compatible with a number of popular messaging services like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

This is what the official website of Fluenty says:

Fluenty is able to suggest smart replies that are specific to the person typing them. Let’s say for example that someone likes to say ‘Cheers!’ instead of ‘Bye!’ when closing a conversation. Fluenty is able to pick that up and will suggest it as a way to say goodbye in future messages.

This means that Fluenty uses more than just web searches to customise user experience and adds a personal touch rather just being a robotic assistant.

Bixby could take a few feathers out of Fluenty’s cap thanks to its machine learning capabilities. For example, if you are meeting someone at a bar, Bixby could pull out a Google Map location of the bar and start navigation.

Bixby has not been received very well since it was announced along with Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. It will be interesting to see how Bixby will incorporate Fluenty’s capabilities and enhance the user experience, and try to replace Google Assistant with Bixby.

November 28, 2017
Samsung Might Announce Bixby 2.0 In Late October

Samsung may launch a new version of its AI assistant, Bixby at the company’s developer conference in San Francisco. A report from The Korea Herald claims that Samsung has appointed a new executive to lead the Bixby development team. Samsung Research America’s Vice Chief Chung Eui-suk is now the head of developing Bixby as well as other artificial intelligence services. Rhee In-jong, Samsung Mobile’s CTO, who headed Bixby in both Korean and English versions, will reportedly be in charge of smartphone development excluding Bixby.

The report claims that Bixby could also be introduced to third party products beyond smartphones. Expect the AI to receive major upgrades in an attempt to compete with other AI assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa, which are already available in a lot of countries.

Bixby was launched alongside Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ in early 2017. Such was the push from Samsung that all the three flagship smartphones in 2017 have a dedicated physical button to access Bixby. When Samsung introduced Bixby, there was a general consensus of it being exactly like Google Assistant. The new Galaxy Tab A also has Bixby, though without the physical button.

Similar to other AI voice assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, and Amazon Alexa, Boxby allows you to verbally communicate with your phone and perform tasks such as googling something, open apps or even make calls or send text messages. You can even point your phone to a certain object and Bixby will be pull up links to buy that product.

In India, Bixby was announced along with the Galaxy Note8 and the roll out of Bixby Voice began in late September. Samsung has said that it has optimised Bixby for India in away that it will understand different Indian accents. This means that your Galaxy flagship phone will respond to you regardless of which region of the country you are from.

How much of an improvement Byxby 2.0 will be over Bixby ‘1.0’ is yet to be seen. Whether Samsung will continue pushing Bixby through its successful flagship smartphones lineup in 2018 is also a question that will be answered in months to come.

October 13, 2017
Bixby Voice Now Available In India

It is fair to say that Samsung has had a great 2017 when it comes to its flagship smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ released earlier in 2017 and the Samsung Galaxy Note8 broke pre-order records in the United States and South Korea. In India, the Galaxy S8, S8+ and the Galaxy Note8 all released with Bixby but, without Bixby Voice. Samsung, however, during the India launch of the Galaxy Note8 announced that Bixby Voice for India will start rolling out from September 22.

For all the software and hardware prowess that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note8 devices possess, one thing that still annoys consumers is a physical button on the left hand side of the phone, the Bixby button. When Samsung introduced Bixby along with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, there was a general consensus of it being exactly like Google Assistant and dedicating a hardware button to the AI assistant was Samsung’s push to replace Google Assistant.

Samsung has said that it has optimised Bixby for India in away that it will understand different Indian accents. This means that your Galaxy flagship phone will respond to you regardless of which region of the country you are from.

At Samsung, we listen to our consumers and bring in meaningful innovations that help make their lives better. With Bixby, the phone adapts to you and not the other way around. It’s a smarter way to use your phone and get more done. Keeping in mind the diversity in Indian accents and our commitment to ‘Make for India’, Bixby has been optimised to understand Indian accents.

Similar to other AI voice assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, and Amazon Alexa, Bixby allows you to verbally communicate with your phone and perform tasks such as googling something, open apps or even make calls or send text messages. You can even point your phone to a certain object and Bixby will be pull up links to buy that product.

September 22, 2017
Samsung May be Making A Bixby Powered AirPod Competitor

Recent announcement of Samsung’s Bixby voice support being available to Galaxy S8 and S8+ owners in US has kept Samsung in news. The latest rumour is that Samsung might be working on making AirPods-like headphones powered by its smart assistant Bixby. The headphones are expected to feature noise-cancelling tech and are expected to be launched alongside the Galaxy Note 8 launch next month.

The Bixby powered earphones are also reported to also allow users to talk to Bixby and ask the voice-activated assistant contextual questions, thanks to Bixby’s recently released voice support.

While Samsung’s Smart assistant is still in works and requires many updates, releasing a pair of expensive Bluetooth earphones might not be the best decision. Bringing Bixby to be up to par with the Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant might take some time.

Samsung is also reportedly working on a Bixby speaker, designed to compete with Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo and Apple’s HomePod. But the recent rumours suggest that the project might have been scuttled.

The rumours also state that the device isn’t fully ready yet, therefore, there are chances that the launch might not happen as soon as the Note 8 launch. Which, may also buy Samsung the time it needs to work on it’s smart assistant and launch with a much improved device.

It is all heresy till the end product is officially announced by Samsung. For now, their focus should be on the Note 8, as they have some really angry people to please in the Note world..

The Note 8 is expected to have a horizontally placed dual camera setup with 12MP dual pixel sensors each. Expected to run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 with a 6GB RAM and 64GB on board storage, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will reportedly run Android 7.1 from the get go and is said to have a 3,300mAh battery pack. Recent reports also suggest that the Note 8 will feature a 4k borderless Super Amoled display design and a newly designed S-Pen with improved features.

July 22, 2017
Samsung Bixby’s Voice Is Ready For Showtime

With the markets flooded with the likes of Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa etc. Samsung’s Bixby is the latest to join the mixer. The company recently announced that the voice support of its smart assistant is out in US, available to Galaxy S8 and S8+ owners. Samsung states that an opt-in Beta test in US on Bixby’s voice support which will be later available in other markets and an eventual release in India. Over 100,000 Galaxy users issued about 4 million voice commands in the early access programs. The test led to faster response time, improved understanding of phrasing the same query differently, better hands-free functionality and ability to read messages and emails aloud, provided you use its stock apps on Galaxy S8.

Similar to its competitors, Bixby can be launched with a push of a button (dedicate to Bixby) on the side of S8 or S8+ or by simply saying “Hi Bixby”. Very much like Siri, Google Assistant and the likes, Bixby can set alarms, send messages, read the news along with image recognition and barcode scanning. But what sets it aside from its contendors is the ability to access the granular phone setting and switch between different menu screens to run commands.

Samsung had earlier planned on making Bixby more aware of the user’s wants and needs, as to customize the user experience. Samsung believes that Bixby will gradually improve as it continues to recognise and learn user’s preferences and adapt accordingly. Choosing not to limit itself to smartphones, Samsung also added Bixby to its line of smart refrigerators last month though without voice support for now.

July 19, 2017