Looks like Bixby isn't dead yet. An executive at Samsung CNBC says That the company is “working hard” to equip its voice assistant with AI features suggests that the company sees the likes of Gemini as a competitor – not a replacement.
Good to know, because some of us are starting to wonder. Earlier this year, when Samsung announced a slew of new AI features for its flagship phones, its voice assistant was barely mentioned. Samsung and Google also made a big deal on Galaxy S24 phones with Gemini Nano – Google's on-device AI model. We wouldn't see Samsung replacing Bixby with Google Assistant Gemini, but apparently, that's not the plan.
“I think we have to redefine the role of Bixby, so that Bixby can be equipped with generative AI,” Won Joon Choi, executive vice president of mobile at Samsung, told CNBC, adding that it would need to be “smarter.” “And able to speak more naturally.” Currently, Samsung is not the only technology company striving to integrate artificial intelligence into its voice assistant. Apple is expected to announce an AI-powered Siri at this year’s WWDC conference.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24's AI features arrived on last year's phones via the One UI 6.1 update. Galaxy AI, as the entire package is called, is free for now. If Samsung plans to charge for its AI features in the future, it will have to offer much more than it is able to offer now. Whatever that vision is, Bixby seems to be part of it.
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