By Kang Seung-woo
Samsung Electronics is set to finally release the English-language version of the Bixby voice assistant later this month.
Samsung announced on its U.S. website Friday (local time) that a select number of Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus owners in the United States can test Bixby’s voice commands in English in advance. Those who want to get a sneak peek at the forthcoming service need to sign up for the preview test.
Samsung hopes Bixby will be the answer to Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa. Thanks to its deep-learning technology, Bixby will learn users’ speaking habits as well as other information to provide them with accurate voice assistance, according to Samsung. In addition, the premium phone has a dedicated button that provides access to Bixby.
The announcement hints that Samsung is close to solving a language barrier for Bixby.
The tech giant unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, in March, and its first artificial intelligence (AI) service was the biggest draw among the device’s headline features. However, it has offered support only in Korean thus far.
The world’s largest smartphone maker initially planned to offer the English version of the intelligent interface by the end of last month, according to reports. But it was pushed back by one month due to Bixby’s failure to comprehend English syntax and grammar.
When Samsung successfully released an English variant of Bixby, Korean users could also enjoy the service after changing their language settings into English.
According to Samsung, it plans to continue updating Bixby, including support for additional languages, features, third-party apps and devices.
“The upcoming Bixby update will give you a new way to interact with the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, enabling you to navigate through your phone’s apps, services and settings with a mix of voice commands and touch,” Samsung said.
As of May 27 -- a little more than a month after its official release on April 21 -- Samsung sold more than 1 million Galaxy S8 phones and its larger sibling S8 Plus in Korea, faster than the 74 days taken for its predecessor, the Galaxy S7, to reach the mark.
Plus, its annual sales are estimated to be between 50 million and 60 million phones, according to industry watchers.
The brisk sales of the latest smartphone prompt watchers to come up with positive outlooks for Samsung’s second-quarter performances. The firm also enjoys increasing profitability in chips thanks to the booming market.
Many analysts expect that the tech giant would chalk up an operating profit over 13 trillion won ($11.5 billion) in the second quarter, which would be higher than its archrival Apple.