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Journalism of Courage
Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S8 and S8+ are set to go on sale in the US next week, but one key feature will be missing on phones – Bixby voice assistant. The English-version of Bixby could be delayed due to performance issues discovered in the past few weeks, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Apparently, the English-version of Bixby is expected to be delayed until the end of May, a Samsung spokesperson confirmed that the Bixby voice will be available in the US until “later this spring”.
“During internal tests in recent weeks, the performance of Bixby’s voice recognition in English has lagged behind that of the virtual assistant’s performance in Korean, these people said, and company executives are still discussing when to make Bixby available in English”.
In a statement provided to Axios, Samsung explains that “key features” of Bixby, such as Vision, Home and Reminder, will be available on launch. This simply means that users will be able to use the Galaxy S8’s camera to identify objects.
“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 U.S. on the Galaxy S8 later this spring”.
Also read: Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ FAQ: Everything you need to know!
Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant was first announced in March, ahead of the global debut of the Galaxy S8 and S8+. Samsung claims Bixby is more “intelligent” and designed for “completeness” allowing users to use your voice for everything you would otherwise do by tapping the screen. According to Samsung, Bixby is “fundamentally different” from Siri and Cortana because it is deeply integrated into apps.
Bixby has been pitched as major feature in the Galaxy S8, with a dedicated button on the left hand side of the device. The information about that it won’t be available for the Galaxy S8’s launch should be seen as a big blow to Samsung, as it means those buy the device won’t be able to use Bixby Voice.
Pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 and S8+ have begun in the US and devices are expected to be shipped starting April 21. Meanwhile, in India, Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy S8 and S8+ later next week. The Galaxy S8 lineup might be priced upwards of Rs. 55,000.
