Samsung has announced that its new Bixby assistant will not be available when the Galaxy S8 launches. The AI will instead be pushed out as an update some time later this spring.
The Wall Street Journal reports that this delay affects all English versions of Bixby; although the exact reason behind it has not been revealed. Samsung expects to get the assistant working by May; although it is difficult to say what the actual release date is.
Samsung’s statement reads, “key features of Bixby, including Vision, Home, and Reminder, will be available with the global launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8 on April 21. Bixby Voice will be available in the US on the Galaxy S8 later this spring.”
Malaysia is set to see the Galaxy S8 on 5 May; which will likely see us affected by the Bixby delay as well. Despite receiving the device later than some other English speaking countries.
Bixby was set to be Samsung’s killer app for the Galaxy S8; and the company even included a dedicated physical button for it. The AI is designed to be a direct competitor to Siri and the Google Assistant. To the extent that Samsung has designed it to perform tasks that the other AI assistants are incapable of; like photo editing and writing emails.
It’s a pity to see one of the major selling points for the Galaxy S8 delayed in this fashion; but it’s understandable that Samsung wants to give the AI a final coat of polish before making it public.
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
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