While the Samsung Galaxy S8 might have received pretty positive reviews hardware-wise and has sold pretty well globally, there has been a tiny bit of a setback for it when it comes to one supposedly hyped-up feature: Bixby, or at least its voice functionality. But it looks like a leaked document posted on Reddit says that Bixby Voice will be launching in the US this Tuesday, July 18, despite previous reports that it’s still not ready for consumers in English-speaking countries.
Bixby was to have been one of the flagship’s selling points, as a digital voice assistant that can do almost whatever you want it to do by just telling your smartphone. Unfortunately, the voice function of it has not been available in the US since the phone officially launched. Initially, it was supposedly due to some grammar and syntax errors for the English language. Then Samsung admitted that the lack of big data which is important for the software to understand English, is what’s preventing the official launch.
The leaked document looks like an internal memo from a retailer, saying “The long awaited Bixby Voice launches Tuesday, 7/18. Below are a few tasks we need to complete to ensure we are retail ready!” It then has a link to a Bixby Webinar training module. Obviously, it’s not an official confirmation or even a solid lead, but it is something.
Also, Samsung seems to have released a beta version to selected users in the US this past few weeks, so it might also be an indication that the voice function launch is imminent. Hopefully they have already fixed the issues so if it does launch this Tuesday, it will not be much of an embarrassment for the brand.
VIA: XDA Developers
