Similar to Google Assistant and Siri, Samsung has its own digital assistant: Bixby. It comes pre-installed on the Korean giant’s phones, TVs, refrigerators, and other devices. In some aspects, Bixby is more powerful than other voice assistants out there. But it has certain drawbacks, which is why it is not that popular despite being on the market for over five years. Read below to find out everything about Bixby, its features, what makes it unique, the devices it is available on, and how to use it.
What is Bixby?
Bixby is Samsung’s digital assistant that lets you get stuff done using your voice. It is an evolution of S Voice. You can use Bixby to send texts, check the weather, call your friends or family, launch apps, and control music playback—just like other voice assistants.
Bixby’s deep integration with system settings and certain third-party apps sets it apart from Google Assistant and Siri. You can use Samsung’s voice assistant to change the brightness level, toggle auto-rotate on and off, take a selfie, or reply to an email in Gmail on your device.
The other two digital assistants can only control basic system settings or send a message to your friends or family. But these assistants cannot open your Instagram direct messages or show your YouTube subscription list as Bixby can.
To set up and use Bixby, you must sign up or log in to your Samsung account.
Like Google Assistant Routines, Samsung’s voice assistant has Bixby Routines that can trigger a series of actions through a single command. There’s also quick command to replace one or more commands with a phrase or word. If you are not a fan of Samsung’s voice assistant, you can disable Bixby on your Galaxy phone.
Bixby is divided into multiple parts: Bixby Voice, Bixby Vision, and Bixby Routines.
Bixby Voice
This is the voice part of the assistant that lets you interact with it using the “Hi, Bixby” command. You have to set up Bixby Voice before you can use the hotword, though. You need to say “Hi, Bixby” multiple times so that the digital assistant can recognize your voice. After setting up Bixby Voice, you can ask the digital assistant any question or give it any command you wish.
Bixby Vision
Bixby Vision is Samsung’s take on Google Lens. The feature allows you to point the camera toward an object to get more information about it. Similarly, you can scan an image using Bixby Vision to copy text from it, translate languages in real time, identify objects, or read out text.
Bixby Routines
You can use Bixby Routines to automate tasks on your Galaxy phone. You can set up routines to automatically change system settings based on a trigger event. For example, you can set up a Bixby routine to lower your Galaxy phone’s volume, connect it to a Wi-Fi network, and open an app when you put it on charge.
Which devices does Bixby support?
Bixby comes pre-installed on all mid-range and flagship Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets launched in 2017. The Galaxy S8, Note8, S9, and S10 series shipped with a dedicated Bixby button. Since the voice assistant failed to take off, Samsung eventually removed the button on newer devices and merged its functionality with the side key.
Apart from smartphones and tablets, Bixby is available on Samsung’s smart TVs, Galaxy Home smart speaker, Family Hub 2.0 and Bespoke line of refrigerators, and Galaxy smartwatches. It is the only voice assistant available on such a non-mobile device.
How to use Bixby
Bixby is available on all Samsung smartphones. You don’t need to download a separate app from the Play Store before you can start using it.
There are multiple ways you can bring up Bixby on your Samsung phone:
- Press and hold the side key—or the Bixby key, if available—for a few seconds.
- Say, “Hi, Bixby.”
- You must have set up Bixby on your phone for the hotword to work.
- Use the Bixby app shortcut in the app drawer.
Once you have set up Bixby, you can ask it the following commands:
- “Record a video.”
- “Show me the emails received today.”
- “Ask Google Duo to call my wife.”
- “Show the files in the document category.”
- “Ask Netflix to play Sacred games.”
- “Start a five-kilometer run.”
- “Transfer data from my old phone”
- “Make the screen darker.”
As you can see, Bixby can control system settings and integrate in a much-deeper way with apps than any other voice assistant out there.
How to use Bixby Vision
- Open the Camera app on your Galaxy phone.
- Switch to the More tab.
- Tap Bixby Vision in the top-left corner.
- If you want more information about a subject, point the camera toward the object and wait for Bixby Vision to scan it.
- To copy text from images, switch to the T option.
- For real-time translation, go to the Translate tab.
- To find more information about a bottle of wine, switch to the Wine tab in Bixby Vision.
Will Samsung Bixby be discontinued?
Bixby is not perfect, but it stands out with its deep third-party app and system settings integration. However, with Bixby failing to click to attract the same attention as other virtual assistants, Samsung is unlikely to focus on further improving its voice assistant for mobile devices. If you’re not a Bixby fan, you may want check out Google Assistant and all the incredible things it does
