It’s alive, it’s alive! Bixby is reportedly making a comeback, with Samsung announcing that the virtual assistant will get a modern AI boost.
Virtual assistants have been around for a few years now, and the primary players are all but set. Alexa and Google Assistant dominate the market, with Siri doing its best to stay relevant. Bixby was Samsung’s entrant, but it was quickly discontinued in 2020 after lackluster success.
Now, however, Bixby is making a comeback thanks to the groundbreaking AI technology that has been making its way into all kinds of tech.
Bixby to Get Generative AI Upgrade
In an interview with CNBC, a top executive from Samsung mentioned that Bixby, the longtime virtual assistant from the Korean company, will soon be getting an upgrade that will see it integrated with the newest technology of the age: AI.
“With the emergence of generative AI and LLM (large language model) technology, I believe that we have to redefine the role of the Bixby, so that Bixby could be equipped with generative AI and become more smarter in the future.” – Won-joon Choi, executive vice president for mobile at Samsung
Samsung hasn’t made an official statement about the news, and Choi provided no timeline for the update. Still, even murmurs about this potential AI revamp for Bixby is giving the once-discontinued virtual assistant new life.
Bixby Back From the Dead
Bixby was the default virtual assistant for Samsung phones for years, as well as the option for other Samsung devices, like TVs and digital appliances. However, in 2020, updates were discontinued, and the default option changed to Google Assistant on Samsung phones. Yes, TVs and digital appliances still had access, but as for any actual updates to improve performance, you were out of luck.
That’s why this news is such a big deal. Bixby was effectively dead in the water, but Samsung’s explosion of AI functionality through Galaxy AI has paved the way for a new virtual assistant that might be able to actually respond to questions.
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Choi noted that the goal is to “enable a more natural conversation and to work out an interface that supports the Samsung products in our ecosystem.”
The Competition Is Steep
Bixby won’t have an easy path back into the hearts of users. Google Assistant has become the go-to solution for the majority of Android users and the addition of Google Gemini functionality will only encourage them to dig their heels in deeper.
Samsung isn’t the only smartphone manufacturer that is falling behind, though. Apple hasn’t made any meaningful progress with its own AI, following its trend of releasing features a few years after they’ve already become popular. Let’s be honest, though, Siri could seriously use the update.
Whether or not an AI injection will be enough to keep Bixby in the conversation remains to be seen. But at least we’ll get to see the virtual assistant back in the ring for one more fight.
