Voice assistant (assistant) Bixby from Samsung, what is it and how does it work? Bixby on Samsung: How it works and how to use it in Russia How Bixby works

Bixby is a smart assistant for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ that appears to be Samsung's answer to similar virtual reality products currently on the market, but it's hard to say how the competition will play out due to the unfinished work on it.

The fact is that despite the fact that the Galaxy S8 has already been officially unveiled, Samsung hinted in a press release before the unveiling that its product still needs improvement. She announced that she will continue to work on her assistant until the S8 line hits stores, and likely for a long time to come. In the future, the company plans to integrate it into its other smart devices.

Despite doubts about how Bixby will perform in the real world, on paper it has some exceptional qualities. First of all, it is easy access. The intelligent assistant has a dedicated button on the left side of the S8, by pressing which the consumer can call it or say the phrase - Bixby.

It's also accessible through the camera app and is capable of speaking 52 languages, as opposed to Siri's 21.

Samsung's intelligent assistant is structured into three parts called Voice, Vision and Home.

Let's take a closer look at them.

Bixby Voice

Bixby Voice is very close to popular virtual voice assistants. But unlike Siri, Alexa and Cortana, which focus on using web resources to answer questions, it emphasizes internal qualities. According to Samsung, “everything done with touch can be done with voice.” The company intends to one day allow consumers to use their device fully through Bixby, which appears to be a daunting task that is far from being achieved.

Samsung's voice assistant works for the first time with phone, messaging, camera, settings, and contacts functions. The consumer is able to use speech commands to display photos, receive incoming mail, and make calls.

Bixby Vision

It is an augmented reality video camera with image recognition capabilities similar to Google Goggles, which consumers are likely to use to identify the products they purchase. For example, he can point to a bottle of wine to find its price and other neat details like recommended food pairings. Samsung has announced collaborations with Pinterest and Amazon, among other partners, to expand the reach of its assistant.

In addition to shopping, the consumer can also use Vision to distinguish between nearby objects, such as flowers and trees. At the unveiling of the S8, another use case was demonstrated where the consumer took a photo of a landmark and the assistant provided historical information about it, as well as recommendations for a local restaurant.

Bixby Home

Bixby Home is a vertical bar of "invitations" for things like weather, control of smart home devices, news and fitness tracking. It also links to third-party apps like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

As you can see, on paper, all the capabilities of the new voice assistant from Samsung are truly impressive. It will be especially cool if the South Korean giant really keeps its word and constantly improves this function. For now, Samsung has no doubt about Bixby's success. And this is very good - the product has every chance to become better

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 by interacting with your phone to level up and unlock new background colors for the assistant interface.

Bixby was definitely not developed from scratch. When designing it, the manufacturer of smartphones and tablets was guided by its own S Voice. This voice assistant has been installed on all smart devices from Samsung for several years. Even smartwatches from the Gear series have its support. However, this assistant did not gain mass popularity. This is explained by the fact that in terms of functionality it is practically in no way superior to a similar project from Google. At the same time, the competitor gradually learns more and more information about the user, so it becomes easier to work with him. As a result, the South Koreans decided to completely rework their idea. This is how the Bixby assistant was born.

Main features of the assistant

Samsung is still at the presentation Galaxy S8 announced that the new voice assistant will not be a flagship exclusive for long. In the future, not only smartphones, but also various household appliances should receive its support. In particular, the smart assistant is going to be implemented in devices running the operating system Tizen. And these are, for example, some new refrigerators from Samsung. As a result, Bixby, when you are in a supermarket, will be able to tell you exactly what products are missing in the refrigerator. Or at least show a photo of its interior. But all this is a matter of the distant future. What features does the service already have?

There is a separate button for calling Bixby. You could say that this makes the assistant more easily accessible. Although many smartphone users will say that there is nothing easier than a voice command. It seems that a separate button on the Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone is dedicated only to popularize the new voice assistant as quickly as possible. In future devices, when Bixby is already well known, they will definitely get rid of the button - the assistant will be called by a familiar voice command, or by some special gesture.

Control your smartphone using your voice. In fact, Bixby can completely replace touch controls. The assistant can click on any menu item for you, open the image you need in the “Gallery” and perform other similar actions. No other voice assistant is capable of this yet. But it is still completely unclear whether this service will interact correctly with third-party applications. And it’s clear to everyone that it’s much faster to click on a menu item with your finger than to say its name out loud. But such functionality will be useful for people with disabilities - those who simply do not have hands.

Object recognition. This function is borrowed from some other services, including those created by the Amazon online store. However, Bixby's capabilities are much broader. The assistant recognizes in photographs not only things that are sold in stores. And not just barcodes. In theory, the Bixby voice assistant is ready to recognize any more or less interesting object. For example, it could be a monument or some kind of building. The assistant will try to instantly find information about the photographed object on the Internet. And in this way, text in a language unfamiliar to you is translated in real time. This allows you to at least partially forget about translator apps for Android .

Understanding natural speech language. Many voice assistants are still very limited in their vocabulary. In order for them to understand you, you need to say some special phrase. Bixby understands natural speech. At least in English. Only as a last resort does he ask the interlocutor again. This will be most noticeable after the voice assistant becomes very popular. After all, the service needs to actively study natural speech, only after that it will really learn to understand it. And this takes time.

Reminders. The voice assistant has also expanded its basic function regarding reminders about certain upcoming events. The user has the opportunity to ask the assistant to remind him of something when he is in a certain place. Again, it is assumed that the command will be delivered in normal conversational speech: “Remind me to take the documents when I find myself near Chapaev 42.”

How to use Bixby?

As mentioned above, for now the service only works on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and its larger brother. It is not possible to install the voice assistant on any other devices (at least as of April 2017). Roughly speaking, buyers of the new flagship are still testing this service. When the South Koreans realize that their creation works almost perfectly, they will provide the opportunity to use it to owners of some other Samsung smartphones. The assistant will arrive with the next firmware update, replacing S Voice. It will hardly be possible to download it somewhere on a third-party resource. Although the creators of all kinds of mods may well somehow implement this.

It should also be noted that the first buyers of the new flagships will not be able to play with Bixby. The fact is that the South Koreans took a little longer to finalize their service. It will become active only at the end of May or beginning of June 2017. It is also unknown whether Bixby will immediately speak Russian, or whether this will have to wait several months or even years.

Using the voice assistant is very simple. Just press the appropriate button and say a question or command. Also, after pressing the button, you will see the assistant's start screen. It contains all sorts of tips and other useful information. For example, it will contain notifications about your friends' activities on social networks, the number of steps you have taken, and much more. The order of the blocks on the screen will constantly change, depending on what information is more important at the moment.

Fans of mobile devices often hear about the benefits of voice assistants, which are constantly developing rapidly with the advent of new technologies and the entry of revolutionary smartphones into the market. Probably, some people find these technologies useless and think that they could never use them. We assure you that this is before the first use. Bixby.

A worthy competitor to Siri and Google

One of the distinguishing features of the latest, revolutionary device Galaxy S8 from a South Korean company Samsung was an innovation that had not previously been seen in more than one solution from the giant. Meet Bixby, a voice assistant that will simplify the use of your smartphone and help with solving problems associated with it.
Bixby was developed at Samsung not from scratch, but based on the technologies of the previous assistant. You probably don't know about it because few people have used it. But it was installed in almost all “smart” devices from the company, even watches. It can be said that S Voice(this was the name of the first voice assistant on the devices of the South Korean company) became an excellent help for Bixby, which the world saw quite recently. However, this is not a continuation of the S Voice idea. Only help was taken from the old technology; in essence, the new product surpasses both it and its competitors from Google in everything.

Features of the Bixby voice assistant

Unlike its analogues, the new project from Samsung will not be limited to living only on smart devices such as Android and watches. No, the South Korean company plans to go much further. In their ambitions, they see Bixby embedded in almost all household appliances, which in theory should make them easier to use. The platform for the new voice assistant will be the Tizen operating system, implemented in some refrigerators from the giant company.

These innovations will take technology to a completely different level. If you can’t imagine how this will be used, then here’s an example: you are the owner of a smartphone with Bixby, and at the same time you have a new refrigerator from Samsung at home. Instead of writing lists of groceries you need to buy, you can simply ask your smartphone what's not in the fridge, what you usually buy, and what you need to buy now. A photograph of the contents will also be provided. But for now this is just a theory.

Bixby in smartphones

There is a separate button to activate the voice assistant. This makes its use as convenient and quickly accessible as possible. On the other hand, a wave of incomprehensible statements poured out on Samsung. Why dedicate a separate button on your device for Bixby when you can use a simple and accessible voice command? This was probably done to popularize the new technology. It’s hard to disagree: if there is some kind of button on your smartphone, then you will undoubtedly want to know: what does it do? This way, more and more people will become familiar with Bixby. Probably, when the use of a voice assistant becomes commonplace for owners of Samsung gadgets, the company will abandon the button in favor of a convenient voice call. You shouldn’t discard the ability to activate Bixby with a gesture familiar to the user.

Main functions

Its only function is to simplify smartphone management as much as possible. It may even get to the point where you don't have to use the screen - just tell Bixby out loud what you want it to do and it will do it. Such capabilities, in the form of working with applications, menu items, photos and audio, cannot be offered by more than one competitor on the market. This is what makes the new product from Samsung interesting and popular. On the other hand, while the Galaxy S8 smartphone, like the voice assistant itself, is relatively new, it is impossible to fully judge the relevance of using Bixby functions in applications that are not standard. By the way, the need to walk through menu items is not such a useful thing, because it’s faster to do everything with your fingers than to ask Bixby for help out loud. On the other hand, it is an extremely useful thing for people with disabilities.

Bixby has been equipped with a feature that has previously been implemented in apps from well-known marketplaces. Its essence is to scan a specific object and search for it on the Internet. Thus, the user of a smartphone with Bixby has the opportunity to view information about the item he is interested in, as well as find it on online sites and stores, and find out about the average price. But, unlike applications, the voice assistant perceives and searches not only for goods, but for any object that turns out to be interesting to the smartphone user. It could be a house, a monument, anything.

The voice assistant perfectly understands natural speech. For example, take Siri - if you want to learn something from her, then you need to contact her using a certain list of phrases. With Bixby, everything is much simpler, at least if you access your smartphone in English. And of course, where without an instant translator. The new product is equipped with this function, so you can forget about third-party applications. Just dictate the text, and Bixby will translate it into the desired language.

Bixby is an extremely promising creation from Samsung that just needs time for a few things:

• firstly, the South Korean company must bring all Bixby functions to stable operation;
• secondly, to settle down with your fans, who will undoubtedly appear soon.

When both of these events happen, we will see this technology on other Samsung devices, but for now, only S8 and S8 users have the opportunity to test it.

This is just in case you're itching to try out Bixby voice functionality on your Galaxy S8. Samsung recently announced a recruitment of participants for open beta testing of the Bixby Voice service.

And now we will briefly tell you what you need to do in order to take part in this exciting event.

As you know, the official page of the Bixby service on the Internet until recently consistently stated that “ new voice features are coming "(that is, there will be voice control, but later). And it seems that this “later” has finally arrived. Almost.

Since yesterday, Samsung has been inviting people to test the new feature on their Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+.

So, what do you need to install Bixby Voice on Galaxy S8?

Of course, the very first condition for participating in the program is having a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ smartphone. Secondly, you will also need your Samsung account, plus you also need to register on a special beta test page. In order, we do the following:

• go to the page for beta testers of Bixby Voice;
• scroll the screen to the very bottom and check the checkboxes “ I Agree with the above Terms and Conditions » (« I agree with the terms and conditions...") And " I have a Galaxy S8/8+ » (« I have Galaxy S8/8+"), then…
• enter E-mail address , to which your Samsung account is “linked” (if it doesn’t already exist, then first create it: “Settings” -> “Accounts” -> “Accounts” - “Add account” -> “Create account”);
• tap the button Sign Up .

It’s worth noting here that Samsung, of course, invites you, but not everyone. In accordance with the rules of the promotion, the number of participants is limited. Therefore, after registration, all you have to do is wait for a letter from Samsung confirming your participation. Participation is completely free - you are simply given access to Bixby Voice before everyone else.

The event promises to be interesting. With Bixby Voice, you can type and send text messages, change smartphone settings, and make calls. To do this, you just press the Bixby button and talk to your Galaxy S8 (although in beta testing in English). Samsung promises that Bixby will understand natural speech. As you use Bixby Voice, the digital assistant will learn and adapt to your voice and habits.

As for the official release of Bixby Voice, previously the most relevant information was considered to be Samsung’s plans to release Bixby voice by the end of June. True, as we see, since only the beta is starting now, they may not have time. Although we won't guess. So stay tuned for the news.