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Samsung Opens Its Voice Assistant Bixby To Developers as It Pursues Alexa and Siri

Posted by msmash on from the fighting-back dept.

Samsung said Wednesday it was rolling out new voice-assistant features to challenge its U.S. rivals' dominance in AI. At its developer conference, where the company is also expected to unveil its first foldable smartphone, the company said it was fully opening its virtual assistant, called Bixby, to third-party developers and businesses for the first time. The move may help the company challenge incumbent players Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri, and Google's Assistant.

Much of the assistant market is yet to be tapped, and it is the right time for developers to embrace Bixby, an executive said. The company said it is offering a no-trade off set of tools (what it calls Bixby Developer Studio) to developers to make use of Bixby. It's the first time any company is offering the full suite of tools that it uses to make its assistant to developers, the company said.

Further reading: VentureBeat.

41 comments

  1. Samsung needs to move on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google assistant runs circles around Bixby. Even Siri is better!

    Can't buy Samsung as long as Bixby is the default.

    1. Re:Samsung needs to move on by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 1

      Really? Can Bixby really be that useless? For, Google A and Alexa are good for little more than party games and grins and giggles.

  2. When I think "Bixby"... by Nova+Express · · Score: 1

    ...I think Jerome Bixby, the science fiction author of "It's a GOOD life," the story of the evil little boy with god-like powers, made into memorable Twilight Zone segments twice.

    Maybe not the association you should be aiming for, unless you want to be wished into the cornfield...

    --
    Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)

    http://www.lawrenceperson.com/

    1. Re:When I think "Bixby"... by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 2

      ...I think Jerome Bixby, the science fiction author of "It's a GOOD life," the story of the evil little boy with god-like powers, made into memorable Twilight Zone segments twice.

      Maybe not the association you should be aiming for, unless you want to be wished into the cornfield...

      Makes me think of Bill Bixby, AKA TV's The Incredible Hulk.

      Just don't make him angry ... you wouldn't like him when he's angry ...

    2. Re:When I think "Bixby"... by NaCh0 · · Score: 1

      Wasn't "Clayton Bixby" Dave Chappelle's black white supremacist character?

      Samsung is trolling us.

    3. Re: When I think "Bixby"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      White power!!!!

      Why'd you leave your wife Clayton.

      Clayton: because she was a n1gger lover! White power!!!

  3. Please open up the off switch by Nkwe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The biggest feature of Bixby (and all mobile phone assistants for that matter) that I want is an "off switch" and an uninstall option. I don't want a virtual assistant on my phone.

    1. Re: Please open up the off switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It sucks. You are literally required to accept their terms and conditions, including the sale of your personal information hijacked from your phone, before you have access to the switch to disable it.

      Isn't this a shrink wrap license? Isn't that illegal?

    2. Re:Please open up the off switch by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Informative

      My wife bought a Samsung "smart refrigerator" with Bixby built-in. I can assure you that Bixby is no where near the privacy threat that Alexa and Siri are, because IT DOESN'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING YOU SAY.

      Bixby is way behind where Siri and Alexa were even back in 2015. The interface is clunky: You say "Hello Bixby" and then wait for it to acknowledge (which it often fails to do), and then you make your request, which it then either ignores or misunderstands.

      Using the Bixby voice interface to, say, show the contents of the refrigerator on the touchscreen, is going to take ten times as long as just opening the door and looking.

      It is not all bad. The speakers on the Samsung smart fridge are actually very good, with a deep base and full range. So if nice sound quality is something you look for in a refrigerator, it might be a good choice.

    3. Re:Please open up the off switch by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 1

      Using the Bixby voice interface to, say, show the contents of the refrigerator on the touchscreen, is going to take ten times as long as just opening the door and looking.

      You make a very good point there. With the current personal assistants, not only are they quite limited in what they can do but, in addition, when they can do something, most of the time it is faster and easier if you just do it yourself.

    4. Re:Please open up the off switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a good thing you let your "wife" (citation needed) purchase major home appliances without your input, so you can lambaste her decision after the fact on slashdot and pretend you had nothing to do with it.

      Yeah nobody noticed, and I'm sure she wouldn't either if she actually existed right?

    5. Re:Please open up the off switch by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      Bixby is a crappy interface, but I don't think you can extrapolate from that to say that smart appliances are inherently crappy.

      I also have an Alexa, which requires no acknowledgement, and understands what I say 99% of the time. If the fridge had an Alexa interface, and I could just say "Alexa, show the contents", it would be fine.

    6. Re:Please open up the off switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Spoken like someone that isn't married. Sometimes life is easier if you remove yourself from every damn decision and let your spouse get what they want regardless of your opinion.

    7. Re: Please open up the off switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here is a man with no wife!

    8. Re:Please open up the off switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bixby is his wife. No self-respecting man would try to both blame and humiliate his wife on slashdot like that, he's probably not married at all. Also if you're such a whipped pussy that your wife runs the show 100%, I pity you lol.

      That's no marriage, you're just a bound bitch taking it. Implying your wife is both overbearing and stupid on the internet doesn't convince me you actually are a man. Sorry, not buying it - just like a $2500 fridge with internet & wifi.

      Good luck consumating with Bixby I guess.

    9. Re:Please open up the off switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can assure you that Bixby is no where near the privacy threat that Alexa and Siri are, because IT DOESN'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING YOU SAY.

      The fact that it sucks doesn't mean it isn't continuously uploading what you say to Samsung.

      No thanks, I'll pass on these voice assistants.

      Using the Bixby voice interface to, say, show the contents of the refrigerator on the touchscreen, is going to take ten times as long as just opening the door and looking.

      Well, to be honest, the first time someone described this functionality my first thought "what a stupid fucking feature that I don't need".

      So if nice sound quality is something you look for in a refrigerator, it might be a good choice.

      Ummm .... what? No, I want a fridge, that keeps things cold ... any further digital integrations is just utterly pointless bullshit I want no part of.

      Especially since this pointless digital shit will likely lower the lifespan of said appliance.

      Honestly, no offense to your wife, but the people who made 'smart fridges' are morons, and the people who bought them are complete fucking drooling idiots who shouldn't be allowed near technology.

    10. Re: Please open up the off switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good self knowledge! Good luck INCELS!

    11. Re:Please open up the off switch by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 1

      The fact that it sucks doesn't mean it isn't continuously uploading what you say to Samsung.

      The fact that it communicates through my local Wifi, and sends only a tiny blip of data if, and only if, I say the "Hello Bixby" trigger, means that it is extremely unlikely to be "continuously uploading" anything.

      You should find a more plausible conspiracy theory to glom onto. The Flat Earth Society is looking for new members.

    12. Re:Please open up the off switch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bixby voice recognition seems very good from my limited voice tests

  4. About No Link by msmash · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hi, The developer event, where this announcement was made, is still underway. Bixby being made open to developers was announced about five minutes ago and there is no news article that has covered it yet. So I wrote it myself and that is why there is no link in the summary. When a good source becomes available, we will add the link and any additional details. Thanks!

    1. Re:About No Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have they added an 'off/uninstall' button yet?

    2. Re: About No Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, they actually did publish the article before any other news outlet. But don't let facts ruin your narrative.

    3. Re:About No Link by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You heard it first here on Slashdot, folks!

      .

      .

      .

      Said no one ever, until now.

  5. I can't wait! by dstyle5 · · Score: 1

    To not use Bixby, like I don't use any other virtual "assistants". Anyone who buys an Alexa, Google, etc. device and puts in their home needs to have their head examined. Please spy on me big tech company! Suck up all my personal data, that of course you say you aren't doing...

    I told our work Alexa it was creepy, maybe that why Amazon has been delaying my game shipements the past year or so. Doh! So sorry Alexa McCreeperton.

    1. Re:I can't wait! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you have a smartphone? based on iOS or Android? They have this thing called "microphone" embedded in it. It's always on. Sure, you can turn it off, but if you can't trust these "big tech company" to not to "suck up all my personal data", can you trust them to actually disable the microphone when you set it to?
      Do you have a router? Can you trust the router to actually route your packets only to the destination you wanted?
      Do you know who signed the security certificate for the slashdot website you are "securely" logged on to? Can you trust the website that gave them the certificate?
      Are you using Chrome? Edge? Explorer? Safari? Can you trust Google, MS, or Apple enough to know these certificate authorities were properly investigated and validated?
      Do you trust Windows or Mac?

    2. Re:I can't wait! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you have a smartphone? based on iOS or Android?

      Yes.

      They have this thing called "microphone" embedded in it. It's always on. Sure, you can turn it off, but if you can't trust these "big tech company" to not to "suck up all my personal data",

      This is why god invented tcpdump, iptables and jails. You don't trust you enforce constraints and check their effectiveness. I use LineageOS open source without any Google malware installed. I trust my smartphone operating system not to be calling home. The baseband processor is another story. I don't trust cellular networks generally nor my cellular provider any more than I trust the Internet. They are insecure by design subject to trivial MITM attacks.(e.g. Fake towers)

      Do you have a router?

      I have a PC as a router with software I trust installed.

      Can you trust the router to actually route your packets only to the destination you wanted?

      That's a damn pointless question. Even if the answer were yes the entire Internet is hostile and untrustworthy so what does it matter? Sane people use end to end security.

      Do you know who signed the security certificate for the slashdot website you are "securely" logged on to? Can you trust the website that gave them the certificate?

      No and I sure as hell don't consider clear text over TLS even if it is properly protected a "secure" method of authentication. A secure authentication protocol would allow proof of mutual possession of a guarded secret without relying on extraneous bullshit like TLS or certificates.

      A secure authentication protocol would FULLY protect the user in the event they attempted to authenticate with a hostile imposter.

      This bullshit on the web with adhoc web login forms everywhere is not only insecure... it's in fact batshit insanity.

      Are you using Chrome? Edge? Explorer? Safari?

      Can you trust Google, MS, or Apple enough to know these certificate authorities were properly investigated and validated?

      This is a little complicated depending on the platform and browser many punt to the operating systems certificate store. If you run Safari or Chrome on Windows for example it's using Windows certificate database not its own. Generally I do not trust Internet PKI. I think the design and implementation is insane and completely untrustworthy. Yet it's still better than nothing.

      Do you trust Windows or Mac?

      I only trust that the companies won't do something so egregious it will get them arrested or sued into oblivion.

      Now what does any of this have to do with the topic at hand? I hope this isn't one of those...don't mind x because y does it too flights of poo logic.

      Right like if your watering can already has a hole in it what's the big deal if you drill another. Or if someone's already experienced one drive by shooting a second one is no big deal. I sincerely hope that's not what your trying to say.

  6. Who is the legend responsible for naming it Bixby? by apparently · · Score: 1

    "Bixby" makes me remember Bill Bixby, and when I remember Bill Bixby, I remember that poor Bill Bixby died of asshole cancer, which seems to be a terrible thing to name your voice assistant.

  7. Every time I launched Bixby by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It was on accident. Please get rid of that button!

  8. How many use Bixby? by Only+Time+Will+Tell · · Score: 2

    I'm curious how many really use Bixby on a semi-regular basis. The only time it sees any action on my phone is when I accidentally hit the Bixby button instead of volume and it pops up. I've used Google Assistant whenever I'm too lazy to type in what I'm trying to search for. I've never found any of the AI assistants all that helpful other than making you look like a maniac as you scream into your phone trying to make it understand what you're saying.

    1. Re:How many use Bixby? by apparently · · Score: 1

      I regularly use Bixby to update and synchronize my HOSTS files across devices, with updates prioritized by the tone and vocal level of my screaming.

    2. Re: How many use Bixby? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So the only way the assistants have been useful to you is by making you look like a maniac? I'm curious what situation that was helpful with?

    3. Re:How many use Bixby? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Much of the assistant market is yet to be tapped, and it is the right time for developers to embrace Bixby, ..."

      Says the executive responsible for the 4th least popular assistant, after Siri, Alexa, Cortana, and Assistant. I'm sure that going Open Source will make the difference for Bixby though (no, it won't).

    4. Re:How many use Bixby? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm curious how many really use Bixby on a semi-regular basis. The only time it sees any action on my phone is when I accidentally hit the Bixby button instead of volume and it pops up.

      Thanks for this! I actually didn't realize earlier that there was a Bixby button on my S8. I have been wondering where does that bugger pop-up from every now and then. Now I realized I'm holding it wrong.

  9. Anti-feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bixby is the most annoying anti-feature on my S8+ ... I accidentally hit that goddamned button every time and the apps that remap that key mysteriously stop working every system update I run. You can't even disable it, let alone uninstall it, unless you root your phone, and I've found nothing on rooting a S8+ that I consider trustworthy. So ... tldr: phone assistants suck, Bixby sucks, and mandatory bloatware sucks

  10. Button by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bally or a no man peed on face
    you've got mud on your face
    big disgrace
    waving your bruce banner all over the place
    -chris cuevas

  11. Good luck on that one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most handset developer software features are gimmicky and fade into obscurity. Another virtual assistant?

  12. First-mover advantage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Small problem for SS: Alexa is waaaaaaay ahead in terms of number of skills it supports.

    For SS to succeed it's going to have to court skill developers like mad, or it'll remain an also ran.

  13. Re:Who is the legend responsible for naming it Bix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I assume it is named after the same Bixby as the one referenced as the last syllable "bi" in Gurobi, in other words, a mathematician.

  14. Heathen! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How could you forget that it trails behind Clippy?

    1. Re:Heathen! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are right. In fact I believe Bixby even trails behind the AOL "You've Got Mail!" voice from the 90's!