Bixby Voice Now Available for Galaxy S8, S8+ in the U.S.
Bixby Voice is now rolling out to Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ owners in the United States, after feedback on earlier beta tests have assured the company that the digital assistant is now ready for the market.
Samsung has announced the launch of the digital assistant in a press release on Tuesday, July 18, as posted in the news section of their official website.
Dubbed as a "Smarter" way to use the Samsung phones, Bixby aims to expose the functionalities of the Samsung flagship mobile devices, starting from the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ in the U.S.
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"There are over 10,000 functions on our smartphones, but each day, people may use less than five percent of them," said Injong Rhee, executive vice president and head of research for Samsung.
"The features on your phone are only useful if you know how to find them. Our goal with Bixby is to make it easier to use our phones, creating the best possible user experience for our customers," Rhee added, citing the reason to create Bixby is to provide "an intuitive new way" to use the Samsung phone.
The delayed launch comes as the beta test of Bixby came out with promising results. More than 100,000 users have enrolled their Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ devices in the Bixby beta, according to The Verge.
Four million voice commands later, the majority of the feedback for the Bixby noted how the assistant understood questions better, even with different phrasing, as well as improved response times.
Bixby also scored high in the hands-free operation tests as Samsung has added new features that let the digital assistant read text messages and emails aloud.
The new assistant can be easily activated by pushing the dedicated Bixby button, located on the side of the Galaxy S8 or S8+. Saying "Hi Bixby" brings up the assistant as well.
It remains to be seen if Samsung starts rolling out Bixby to areas outside the U.S. within the month.
