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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.

5 of 41 comments (clear)

  1. 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 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.

  2. 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!

  3. 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.

  4. 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 ...