Tim
More details regarding the upcoming Galaxy S8 from Samsung have hit the web this morning, partially from the company’s own website.
According to a privacy page linked to on Samsung Italy’s website, the name of Samsung’s AI digital assistant is indeed Bixby (which has been reported before), with system-wide integration built-in. As stated directly on the webpage, “In addition, you can control all operations with the touch interface using voice commands with Bixby.” So, with that being said, Bixby is more than for just quick web searches — it’s a system-wide assistant made to help with pretty much any task tied to the phone.
On top of the Bixby development, South Korea’s The Investor outlet has posted a new report, claiming a 3D Touch-like feature will be partially showcased on the Galaxy S8. To sum this up, think of the long press action you can perform on iPhone and Pixel devices to open shortcuts within an app. On the Galaxy S8, at least from what this report states, users can long press on the on-screen home button to open shortcuts to phone settings and more.
Here is an excerpt from The Investor’s report.
Samsung’s new flagship smartphone Galaxy S8 is expected to partly use the 3-D Touch technology for its “virtual home button” on the bottom of the display screen that allows users to open up menus and navigate the phone, while the fingerprint-scanning home button will be relocated to the back.
So, the first question I have is, what about Google Assistant? Typically, a long press on the home button is how you would access Google’s digital assistant, a feature now showcased on many Android devices. Will Samsung allow for programming between these different features, simply not offer Google Assistant because of Bixby, or will they incorporate another solution? Unfortunately, we have more questions than answers at this time.
March 29 is quickly approaching, thank goodness.
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