Bixby 2.0 News: Samsung 'Reinvents' Smart Assistant From Being 'A Novelty to an Intelligence Tool'
The main event at this week's Samsung Developer Conference was the announcement of the Bixby 2.0.
As its name suggests, the Bixby 2.0 is a second-generation release of Samsung's artificially intelligent smart assistant.
Aside from expanding its services on smartphones by welcoming contributions and partnerships with third-party developers, the Bixby 2.0 is Samsung's starting point in building an ecosystem of digital devices and home appliances that will be linked together through the smart assistant.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
In a release, Samsung's Eui-Suk Chung described the Bixby 2.0 as "a bold reinvention of the platform" with the goal of "transforming basic digital assistants from a novelty to an intelligence tool."
In the simplest sense, Samsung is aiming to introduce a smart assistant platform that will transcend all smart home appliances aside from smart speakers and smartphones.
Meanwhile, technology enthusiasts will know that the idea that Samsung pitched was not new. In fact, Amazon and Google are now leading the race in developing smart speakers that can make free calls, play music and videos, shop online, command home appliances to turn on or off, among other things. Based on Chung's write-up, it is practically the same scenario that Samsung will want to create.
However, what makes the Bixby 2.0 sound different from what Amazon and Google currently offers is that the South Korean electronics firm is hinting at embedding the Bixby smart assistant support and features on every device at home.
This is the same principle that Samsung told the world of last year when they first confirmed the development of Bixby and acquired the people from VIV Labs who practically conceived Apple's Siri.
VIV Labs' CEO Dag Kittlaus was clear when he said they would be focusing on making Bixby a "connected technology," according to The Korea Herald. To present a clearer vision, Samsung Electronics' Vice President Rhee In-jong told the same report: "(For instance) you will be able to ask your refrigerator to show you your photos on your phone."
Chung further explained: "Bixby 2.0 will be ubiquitous, available on any and all devices." He added: "This means having the intelligence of Bixby, powered by the cloud, act as the control hub of your device ecosystem, including mobile phones, TVs, refrigerators, home speakers, or any other connected technology you can imagine."
The first-generation Bixby was released alongside the Galaxy S8 and S8+ devices. Though its launch was not as smooth as Samsung had hoped, the company now claims they were able to catch up on the delays and Bixby is now available in over 200 countries.
