What the Bixby virtual assistant can do. Bixby voice functions for Samsung Galaxy S8 are coming to Russia When will the Bixby voice assistant be released in Russian?

Hello, dear readers. Not long ago, the world saw the birth of a new, highly intelligent assistant. Samsung manufacturers, especially for quick access to it, even allocated a separate button on the left side of the smartphone.

This assistant has an advantage over the already known Siri in the language segment. While she has the ability to communicate in 21 languages, her opponent has a whopping 52!

It is worth noting that so far only the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus models are equipped with it, but the developers have made it clear that in the near future they will place it on their other devices. Let's quickly find out what Bixby Samsung is, how to use it, and how this artificial intelligence of the future works.

You won't be bored with Bixby

So far, Bixby has four main functions in its arsenal:

• Bixby Voice. Voice recognition function. The main advantage of this assistant is the ability to control its applications, launch the camera, call mode and much more without touching the smartphone. The developers tried their best and made it as human as possible. If you do not dictate the command correctly, Bixby will still understand you, or at worst, ask for additional information to clarify. Manufacturers set ambitious goals for it, and plan to use the smartphone one hundred percent through an assistant in the future. Bixby, unlike its competitors who specialize in searching for information on the Internet, is positioned as an internal assistant. Designed to simplify work, directly on the phablet itself.
• Bixby Vision. Activation of additional reality. This feature allows you to use the camera to identify various objects in live mode. Bixby Samsung Galaxy recognizes literally everything, various objects, landmarks, QR codes, and even locations. And immediately provides everyone with detailed information about this. This feature is launched in the camera application or Bixby home.
• Bixby reminder. Intuitive reminders. One of the useful features of Bixby is that it allows you to program reminders at a specific point in your life. If you wish, it will remind you where you stopped when reading your favorite novel, or where you didn’t finish watching the movie.
• Bixby home. Mix of hot applications. All the most popular programs for the user are located in a separate window, appearing on the screen upon command.

Let's reveal a little secret to make Bixby more effectively identify your voice message, communicate with it more. Samsung developers have thought of a system whereby for regular conversations with an assistant, you can receive a reward in the form of bright colors for its interface.

Video: How Bixby works

How to enable Bixby on Samsung Galaxy S8

There are two ways to summon our assistant. You don't even know which one has easier access. The first is when it can be activated by simply pressing a button specially designated for it on the left. Or, activate it with a voice command by calling him by name, Bixby!

How to disable Bixby and assign a button to another application

To turn it off, just touch the toggle switch to activate it.

There is no comrade for taste and color, as they say. In principle, you can understand those users who want to disable Bixby. After all, not all of its capabilities have yet been revealed, and active work is underway on it to fully reveal its potential. Let us remind you that Samsung manufacturers themselves have prohibited the option of changing this key for other programs. However, there are already certain applications for this on Google Play.

So, we will need to download Bixby Remapper from Google Play. After successful download and installation, do the following:

• Let's go to settings
• Choosing universal access
• Click on services

To enable universal access, we need the program to identify whether the Bixby button is active. Then go to Bixby Remapper and activate the toggle switch in the upper right part of the screen. Now, when we turn on the Bixby key, it will initially open, then immediately minimize and then open our desired application.

Write your reviews about Bixby in the comments, do you like how it works?

Video: How to disable Bixby on Samsung Galaxy S8

Forget Google Assistant: Samsung's next Android flagships will boast their own voice assistant, Bixby.

The company has already confirmed that Bixby does exist (in the virtual world, of course), and that it won't be limited to just mobile devices, but will become commonplace across a wide range of Samsung devices.
This new AI has only just arrived, but in this article we've rounded up everything we know and everything you need to know about Bixby.

So what is Samsung Bixby?

In November 2016, at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, the company announced the development of its first voice assistant, based on technology obtained through the acquisition of Viv, an artificial intelligence firm run by Dag Kittlaus, who was directly involved in the creation of Apple's Siri personal assistant. A month ago, Samsung bought Viv to compete with Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Microsoft Cortana.

Alleged Bixby logo

At the same time, it became known that Samsung had filed documents to register a trademark in South Korea, designed to protect the word “Bixby”. The annex to the registration application explained that the brand would be used for computer software designed to manage personal information, for use in mobile and computer voice recognition applications, and for software that enables the use of a mobile phone using voice commands, not holding it in your hands.

Now that the information has been fully confirmed by a post made on Samsung's blog, we know that Bixby is an artificial intelligence system that was designed to make interacting with your device easier, and especially to avoid the complexity of using devices that purchase more and more new features. The system's debut will take place on March 29 at the presentation of the Samsung Galaxy S8 model.

How does Samsung Bixby work?

The company has already confirmed a number of fundamental principles of the assistant's work, saying that Bixby has three things that will help its promotion:

1. Bixby is a complete solution: the assistant is designed to help you complete a full range of interactions, rather than just, for example, launching an application or performing a single task. The company says that Bixby will be able to do almost everything you can do with the app using touch controls.
2. Bixby is sensitive to the context of its use: in 2017, “Bixby” became one of the keywords for voice control of artificial intelligence, an example of which is, for example, Google Assistant. This means Bixby can recognize the state an app is in and perform the correct actions, while also allowing for a combination of voice and touch control.
3. Bixby understands your native language, meaning you don't have to use preset phrases. Instead, you can speak snippets of information, and the assistant will interpret them and take the necessary actions.

Despite the fact that the company talked about the existence of its Bixby and that the service would soon be available to everyone, almost nothing was said about the actual functions of the new service.

What can Samsung Bixby do?

Here's what we've learned from the company itself, as well as what's been revealed through leaks and rumors:

Bixby button on Samsung S8

The company has confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy S8 will have a dedicated button for Bixby, meaning the service will be central to the phone's experience. Instead of having to unlock your phone and open an app that lets you make calls, the company says you can simply use Bixby to do all of those things, which will do them much faster.

System-wide successor to S Voice

Samsung used to promote S Voice as a service, but overall the service has fallen into disrepair as Google Voice works much better. Google Voice is now tied to Google Assistant, and Bixby is on the scene for Samsung. The company said that Bixby is a voice service, so it should be the only point of interaction on the device. So we don't know yet whether you'll get Google Assistant on the Galaxy S8.

Contextual and visual search

According to community site SamMobile, thanks to Bixby's system-wide functionality, a user will, among other things, be able to ask their virtual assistant to dig through information and show it a specific picture from the gallery app. Just like Google Assistant, the new system will also suggest answers and actions based on context and provide you with visual search, acting like an optical character recognition tool that uses the Galaxy S8's camera. The stock camera app will have its own Bixby button. Although, again, all this still requires confirmation.

Bixby Pay payment system
There is a chance that the company will include technology in the system that will allow you to process payments using voice commands. Presumably, this option has the working name Bixby Pay, as indicated by discussions in the SamMobile community.

Third Party Application Integration

Injeong Rhee is the head of the information technology department of Samsung's mobile devices division. And so, in November 2016, he told the Korea Herald that the company was in the process of developing a core AI interface based on an open platform. This interface will allow you to perform tasks across multiple apps using only voice commands, meaning you won't have to jump from app to app to separately order a pizza or hail an Uber.

The company also confirmed that a development kit is planned for release that will enable integration with Bixby. Based on expectations, large mobile device companies will rush to take advantage of this opportunity.

Appliances

In October, Injeong Rhee gave an interview to The Wall Street Journal in which he said that the Galaxy S8 will come with technology from Viv Labs, which will offer us services that are “significantly differentiated” compared to the services of Siri, Google Assistant, etc. According to Samsung's chief information officer, the company plans to use the Galaxy S8 as a “springboard to expand” its artificial intelligence technologies, which will later be used in other company products, such as household appliances.

The company itself has already confirmed these words, saying that with the help of Bixby (for example), you can control your air conditioner, and all you need for this is an Internet connection and some kind of device capable of detecting voice.

Multi-language support

According to information provided by ET News, Bixby will be able to support seven or eight different languages, including English, Korean and Chinese, so this system can launch in many territories at once without the need for subsequent updates.

By comparison, Google Assistant on Pixel phones can currently only support English and German, although Siri understands 36 languages ​​across different countries. But we still have to wait for confirmation of this information. There is no official word yet on whether Bixby will be able to understand Russian.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones. One of their distinctive capabilities is the Bixby virtual assistant, which makes interaction with the device, services and applications more instinctive and simpler.

Bixby was created to provide a more personalized experience to improve how people interact with their smartphones and the world around them. As noted, Bixby is not your average voice assistant, but rather an intuitive and comprehensive interface that takes a contextual approach to learn users' habits and respond accordingly.

Bixby offers four main features: Voice, Vision, Reminder and Home.

To launch Bixby Voice, you need to press and hold the hardware button on the side of the Galaxy S8 and say “Bixby.” You can also launch it from the main screen. After this, the smartphone can be controlled by voice commands. At the same time, using natural language understanding, Bixby can adapt to the user's unique speech style. But if Bixby doesn't understand the user's command, it will ask for more information so that it can complete the task. English and Korean will be supported initially.

As noted, Bixby works simultaneously in several applications (Call, Camera, Gallery, Settings and Message, the number will be expanded in the future) and has the ability to manage all the settings and functions of each service. For example, if a user wants to send photos to a friend, they can select images from their Gallery by tapping them, and then tell Bixby to send the selected photos to the specified contact. Bixby itself works in the background.

With Vision, Bixby tracks the user's gaze, making it easier to find images and information, translate text, and more. You can also use this system to take a photo of an item and then use Vision to search for and purchase it online. In addition, Vision can scan QR codes, and in some countries, barcodes.

There is an intelligent reminder system, and it works not only for, but also for marking places on videos and similar tasks.

At launch, Vision's shopping service will be available in 11 countries, including the US, UK and Korea, and will expand to more in the future.

Finally, Bixby's home screen allows users to see the content they're most interested in, allowing the shortcuts and items they use most often to be brought to the home slot.

Finally presented its flagships Galaxy S8 and S8+. Both smartphones received the new Bixby voice assistant.

And here’s what Samsung actually says regarding Bixby:

Bixby is not your average voice assistant, but rather an intuitive and comprehensive interface that uses contextual awareness to learn the user's habits and respond accordingly.

This looks like a truly new way to interact with your smartphone.

Other assistants, such as Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa and Cortana, receive information upon request on the Internet and then deliver it to the user. Bixby is different in that it is not a search engine. It is an assistant aimed at simplifying the user experience when using the phone, applications and services.

To call Bixby, just say its name out loud or press a special button. The assistant performs 4 main functions:

Bixby Voice

Bixby recognizes natural speech. Thanks to voice control, the user can perform various tasks related to his smartphone. We're talking about calls, gallery, settings, and so on. Bixby will initially support English and Korean, but other languages ​​will be added later.

Bixby Vision

Bixby Vision uses an augmented reality camera to detect objects around you. In general, you can find out all the necessary and useful information about everything around you. The functionality also allows you to translate text, scan QR codes and determine location.

Bixby Reminder

Based on the user's routine and location, Bixby provides contextual reminders. Users can create alerts for tasks at a specified time or location. What's more, Bixby Reminder can remind you on which page you finished reading your book.

Bixby Home

This is a collection of everything you need in one place. Everything the user needs: applications, services, routine obligations and much more appears on the screen.

Bixby is an ambitious project from Samsung. But so far it only works with about 10 Samsung Android apps. At the event dedicated to this innovative assistant, the manufacturer assured that Bixby will work using third-party applications and with Samsung Connect (smart connection of home devices).

Today we have prepared a short review Bixby on Samsung, a fun voice assistant like Google Assist and Siri. We will talk about its capabilities, how Bixby works, and also give a brief overview of this assistant.

The Bixby button has finally found its way into the S8 series smartphones and has received an important function - voice support. For now, the feature has officially launched in the United States as an early release, and Samsung promises to work hard on Bixby updates and release them frequently. And that's a good thing - because at launch the Bixby functionality has a lot of flaws.

There is no beta testing in Russia yet, but we did it with the help of our American colleague @AndrewBon and today we will talk about his experience.

At the very beginning of the launch, you will be shown a tutorial that will tell you how to launch the Bixby function and that the program will learn to recognize your voice.

You can activate Bixby by saying “Hi, Bixby” (hello, Bixby), or simply by holding the Bixby button during a call, as if you were talking on a walkie-talkie. Next, you can ask him the basics: weather in London, alarm clock. And right here, on the simplest functions, Bixby stumbles. No, he can talk about the weather, the problem is a little different.

Firstly, it is very slow and sluggish compared to Google Assistant. Ask Bixby what time it is and it will launch the clock app first and then read the answer. Identifying the US President (a simple query for Siri and US) is clearly a difficult task for him. It just takes you to Google. And in general, he quite often sends queries to the search, as if there is no knowledge base from which the answers should be taken.

Even a simple task like exchanging SMS is a little complicated here. First, you should set the Samsung Messages apps as your default. And if you do not clearly say “Send a message to mom and ask “how are you doing,” then the option with a simple Siri analogue in the form of “Write to mom - how are you doing” will not be available here. You will be sent for a walk to Google again.

What Bixby does well is change the settings of phones internally. Switch between call modes, open an application in a split screen, go into settings - it does all this perfectly well, fortunately Samsung has added about 3,000 commands for this part to the phone database. Samsung's own apps work best with Bixby, and Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Uber, Gmail, and Google Maps are also perfectly optimized. The list is quite large and the Bixby voice assistant copes well with all of this.

We'd say that in "consistent" apps, Bixby exceeds our expectations somewhere. You can safely tell him - “Open Uber and rate my driver 5 stars” or “Open Instagram and post my latest photo.” Bixby will calmly do everything we described above. The only thing is that the Korean company still needs to work on the clarity of voice recognition; sometimes posts on Twitter are added with inarticulate gibberish.

To help Bixby detect your voice, you need to talk to it more often. Samsung has even introduced an experience system, which you can earn for interacting with your phone to level up and unlock new background colors for the assistant interface.