Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Samsung Galaxy S8 to Debut 'Viv', the AI Assistant From the Creators of Siri
Samsung said on Sunday it will launch its first AI virtual assistant in next year's Galaxy S8 smartphone, based on technology gained through its acquisition of Viv.
Viv is the AI firm run by Dag Kittlaus, co-creator of Apple's Siri. Last month, Samsung bought Viv with the intention of allowing it to operate as an independent company, while providing Samsung with a readymade AI solution that will enable it to go toe-to-toe with Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon's Alexa.
Siri co-creator Dag Kittlaus' Viv AI will appear in Samsung devices
According to a Reuters report, Samsung now plans to integrate the AI platform into its Galaxy smartphones and expand voice-assistant services to home appliances and wearable devices.
Samsung hopes the AI technology will help revive its momentum in the smartphone industry following the recall and discontinuation of this year's flagship Galaxy Note 7, which will cost the company $5.4 billion in profit through the first quarter of 2017.
Samsung didn't mention what types of services the AI would offer in its Galaxy S8, which is due to go on sale next year, but Viv features enhanced contextual understanding which allows it to understand the intent of a user's queries and create its own programs on the fly.
In May, it was reported that Apple was planning on introducing a next-gen natural language API in its rumored Amazon Echo competitor. The technology behind the API is the work of VocalIQ, a natural language outfit purchased by Apple in October 2015. The API has the ability to do "session-based" contextual responses similar to Viv.
Viv is the AI firm run by Dag Kittlaus, co-creator of Apple's Siri. Last month, Samsung bought Viv with the intention of allowing it to operate as an independent company, while providing Samsung with a readymade AI solution that will enable it to go toe-to-toe with Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon's Alexa.
According to a Reuters report, Samsung now plans to integrate the AI platform into its Galaxy smartphones and expand voice-assistant services to home appliances and wearable devices.
Samsung hopes the AI technology will help revive its momentum in the smartphone industry following the recall and discontinuation of this year's flagship Galaxy Note 7, which will cost the company $5.4 billion in profit through the first quarter of 2017.
Samsung didn't mention what types of services the AI would offer in its Galaxy S8, which is due to go on sale next year, but Viv features enhanced contextual understanding which allows it to understand the intent of a user's queries and create its own programs on the fly.
"Developers can attach and upload services to our agent," said Samsung Executive Vice President Rhee Injong during a briefing, referring to its AI assistant. "Even if Samsung doesn't do anything on its own, the more services that get attached the smarter this agent will get, learn more new services and provide them to end-users with ease."With the preponderance of AI assistants in consumer devices – most recently in Google's Pixel smartphones – Viv is a technology that Samsung is eager to exploit, and is likely to make its way into the company's non-mobile devices, like washing machines, refrigerators and TVs.
In May, it was reported that Apple was planning on introducing a next-gen natural language API in its rumored Amazon Echo competitor. The technology behind the API is the work of VocalIQ, a natural language outfit purchased by Apple in October 2015. The API has the ability to do "session-based" contextual responses similar to Viv.
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Top Rated Comments
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36 months ago
5/8 posts are lame comments about exploding so far.
It's like everyone is rushing to make a funny joke but then they all end up not funny.
It's like everyone is rushing to make a funny joke but then they all end up not funny.
36 months ago
If Apple doesn't realise what a huge opportunity it missed by refusing to include Viv as an enhanced version of Siri in their products, there's not much hope left.
It's nearly 2017 and Siri is still not able to send a message or give driving directions without messing things up.
It's nearly 2017 and Siri is still not able to send a message or give driving directions without messing things up.
36 months ago
If Apple doesn't realise what a huge opportunity it missed by refusing to include Viv as an enhanced version of Siri in their products, there's not much hope left.
It's nearly 2017 and Siri is still not able to send a message or give driving directions without messing things up.
You must be using a different version of Siri than me
36 months ago
With all their resources and time, Apple should be leading the virtual assistant race by now, but they're not. Siri is better than it was a few years ago, but it's still frustrating some of the time. Having Siri execute a web search in response to a question is only marginally helpful, and it's useless if I'm in a situation where I can't look at my phone.
36 months ago
5/8 posts are lame comments about exploding so far.
It's like everyone is rushing to make a funny joke but then they all end up not funny.
You're right. The whole thing ends up exploding in our face.
:D
36 months ago
Step your game up Apple! Don't be like Microsoft was with mobile, get on AI now!
Apple doesn't exist in a vacuum.
Apple doesn't exist in a vacuum.
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