You may have a new Galaxy S8 or S8+ in your hand but it’s not fully complete yet because of a missing feature–Bixby. The smart voice assistant exclusive to the latest premium flagship duo has been delayed in the United States because of grammar and syntax issues. It was supposed to be available at launch and ready to speak and understand about eight languages as a pre-installed app but we had to wait a while.
This AI is expected to take on the Google Assistant and Siri so we have high expectations from this one. It has been the subject of many reports especially since we learned the Bixby button could be remapped for other actions. Samsung did something and now it is impossible to be remapped. There’s still that possibility though of calling up Google Now instead of Bixby as made possible by one developer.
When Verizon rolled out the Galaxy S8, Bixby’s Amazon function wasn’t working but fully went live a month after.The feature rolled out in South Korea only last May and good news to those in the United States, Bixby Voice is now available.
Some Galaxy S8 owners have reported seeing Bixby enabled on their phones. If you’re part of the Bixby Early Access Program, you may have received it already. More software updates will be released soon so stay tuned.
To ensure that Bixby will work properly on your smartphone, update all your apps from the Galaxy Apps store. You should be seeing the updated Bixby and be asked to setup the Voice function.
Some users have already shared their experiences with Bixby. So far, so good according to one redditor who also shared that the Bixby “seems to work by simulating touches on the screen”. This means Bixby will launch an app or do something and then do the “touching” for you. He even posted some demo videos on YouTube.
Here’s one:
Samsung Bixby is now live for some users. You can also now use the Bixby Voice typing in a Samsung keyboard.
