Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Samsung Announces 'Bixby 2.0' Designed for Smart Home Products Like Refrigerators and TVs
Samsung today announced the second-generation version of its Bixby voice assistant, seven months after Bixby was first unveiled ahead of the launch of the Galaxy S8.
According to Samsung, Bixby 2.0 is a "fundamental leap forward for digital assistants" and a "bold reinvention of the platform," designed with the aim of making Bixby available on "any and all devices."
Bixby 2.0 will be available on smartphones, TVs, refrigerators, home speakers, and other connected technology products. Bixby 2.0 will be "open," allowing developers to choose how users interact with Bixby in their services.
Samsung says Bixby 2.0 features enhanced natural language capabilities to support more natural commands and complex processing, so it can "really get to know and understand" who you are and who members of your family are.
Bixby, a Siri competitor, was designed to be deeply integrated within apps, differentiating it from other AI-based assistants like Siri and Cortana. Samsung ran into trouble with Bixby early on, though, and was not able to include the assistant in the English versions of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ due to performance issues.
While Bixby performed well in Korean, its English voice recognition capabilities lagged behind, and so Bixby was not added to the Galaxy S8 and S8+ models in the United States until July, three months after the devices launched.
Galaxy S8 owners have complained that Bixby can be confusing and frustrating to use, and a lack of enthusiasm for the feature has even caused Samsung to implement a feature that allows the dedicated Bixby button on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 to be disabled.
Bixby was built using technology Samsung acquired from Viv, an AI assistant that was developed by some of the creators originally responsible for Apple's Siri.
Samsung is launching a private beta program with the Bixby SDK, available for select developers.
According to Samsung, Bixby 2.0 is a "fundamental leap forward for digital assistants" and a "bold reinvention of the platform," designed with the aim of making Bixby available on "any and all devices."
Bixby 2.0 will be available on smartphones, TVs, refrigerators, home speakers, and other connected technology products. Bixby 2.0 will be "open," allowing developers to choose how users interact with Bixby in their services.
Samsung says Bixby 2.0 features enhanced natural language capabilities to support more natural commands and complex processing, so it can "really get to know and understand" who you are and who members of your family are.
Bixby, a Siri competitor, was designed to be deeply integrated within apps, differentiating it from other AI-based assistants like Siri and Cortana. Samsung ran into trouble with Bixby early on, though, and was not able to include the assistant in the English versions of the Galaxy S8 and S8+ due to performance issues.
While Bixby performed well in Korean, its English voice recognition capabilities lagged behind, and so Bixby was not added to the Galaxy S8 and S8+ models in the United States until July, three months after the devices launched.
Galaxy S8 owners have complained that Bixby can be confusing and frustrating to use, and a lack of enthusiasm for the feature has even caused Samsung to implement a feature that allows the dedicated Bixby button on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 to be disabled.
Bixby was built using technology Samsung acquired from Viv, an AI assistant that was developed by some of the creators originally responsible for Apple's Siri.
Samsung is launching a private beta program with the Bixby SDK, available for select developers.
[ 94 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
22 months ago
This is the problem with Samsung, they always announce new tech that simply isn't ready.
"Bixby, blow up my Samsung"
"Bixby, blow up my Samsung"
22 months ago
Nope. Nope. Nope. Let people remap that dang button.:mad: Sammy, you really don't need an option for every Google service. Samsung Pay? Yeah, that's great. Really great. Murders Android Pay... murders all Pay's actually. Bixby? Give it the Elsa treatment: Let it go.
edit: Opinion as it relates to me. YMMV
edit: Opinion as it relates to me. YMMV
22 months ago
Siri is pretty useless, sure it recognizes the words, but it can't do anything. I always get... I'm sorry, I can't do that yet.
And the search results for Siri are awful. I find my self opening the chrome browser to use their search function as Siri's search result JUST SUCK!
For a minute I thought that this article was about Bixby, I was mistaken…
22 months ago
Tried it on my S8, didn't like it (it wasn't good enough).
But with every major update, I'll give it a whirl - competition is good for consumers.
But with every major update, I'll give it a whirl - competition is good for consumers.
22 months ago
Bixby is amazing if you use it how it is met to be used. Much better than Siri.......
You mean if you ignore the things it can’t do but only use the ones it can? Sounds pretty amazing. /s
22 months ago
Typical Samsung, always throwing crap at the wall hoping some of it sticks.
Actually they are creating things that have real use. Bixby controls the internal functions of the phone, so it can be quite useful. Siri seems to be more of a party gimmick to ask it stupid questions and see what it says.
It’s a competitor to Siri? How do I get it to work with Apple Music, Apple Watch, and CarPlay?
Very intelligent.
You mean if you ignore the things it can’t do but only use the ones it can? Sounds pretty amazing. /s
If you try to use Microsoft Word to create a spreadsheet, it isn't go well. You use a tool for what it was intended. No, you can't be a moron and expect it to help you.
22 months ago
Each of the assistants has a different strength, and what is needed is interoperability. Google is better for search. Cortana is better for planner integration. Alexa is better for shopping. Bixby is better for device functions. Siri... not better at anything.
Once I realized Bixby's thing was device functions I've been using it and liking it. Like I can hit the button and say "take a selfie" and it does it. You can also create multi step functions. This is like a voice macro engine for the device. It would be great if you could use any one assistant, and if they didn't know how to do something they could ask the other. I believe that Microsoft and Amazon are working on this.
Once I realized Bixby's thing was device functions I've been using it and liking it. Like I can hit the button and say "take a selfie" and it does it. You can also create multi step functions. This is like a voice macro engine for the device. It would be great if you could use any one assistant, and if they didn't know how to do something they could ask the other. I believe that Microsoft and Amazon are working on this.
[ Read All Comments ]
In iOS 13, Apple has extended the system's built-in screenshot feature to include the ability to save a full web page as a multi-page PDF.
Don't expect this option to appear when...
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Twelve South to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a prize pack that includes a BookBook vol. 2 for iPad Pro, an AirFly, and a set of...
O2 has became the latest network carrier in the United Kingdom to offer the cellular version of the Apple Watch Series 4. iPhone users can now order the LTE-enabled smartwatch through the O2 website,...
Unsolicited phone calls can become a regular annoyance and even a cause of stress for many smartphone users these days. Thankfully, Apple provides a feature in iOS 13 that can automatically silence...
The Iconfactory today announced it has released a significant update to its popular third-party Twitter client Twitterrific for iPhone and iPad. The latest version of the app contains over 50 new...
Apple yesterday released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced three years ago in March 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to...
Amazon and B&H Photo are discounting the latest versions of Apple's iPad Air this week, with each configuration of the tablet receiving a new all-time-low price tag. Amazon offers the largest...
Spotify today announced a new version of the "Your Library" tab in its mobile apps for iOS and Android, which is "designed to get you to the content you want faster." This update is...
