"Anywhere that has an internet connection and microphone, Bixby can be used," he said. About 18 months ago, Samsung set out to make what it eventually named Bixby, which doesn't stand for anything and was chosen because it was popular with millennials. "We were really changing that philosophy behind this to make it so much more accessible and easier for people to adopt," Rhee said. While working on Bixby, Samsung found it lacked some capabilities, so last year it bought AI startup Viv Labs and Joyent, a cloud computing company.
The initial version of Bixby will use only technology that Samsung created in-house, Future evutec aergo ballistic nylon iphone 8 tough case & vent mount - black Bixby updates will incorporate Viv, which Rhee said will help it work with third-party apps, "We're bringing Viv Labs to grow that ecosystem in a much more scalable manner," Rhee said, Viv is intended to handle everyday tasks for you, like ordering flowers, booking hotel rooms and researching weather conditions, all in response to natural language commands, The creators -- who included one of Siri's makers, Dag Kittlaus -- claim their software understands your requests and engages in conversation with you to fulfill them, instead of making you speak formulated commands like other AI assistants do..
Samsung's "looking at a few more" companies it may acquire, Rhee said. As for that special button, Samsung decided not to incorporate Bixby into the home button, as Apple has done with Siri, Rhee said. That's because the home button is an "overloaded place," he said, and "having it in the home button, it's easier to make a mistake."It also looks more natural to talk to the assistant when you hold the phone up to your face like, well, a phone, Rhee said. Bixby will have an audible wake word to call on the AI assistant if you're not pressing the button.
Tech research firm Creative Strategies found that among people who use voice assistants, only 6 percent use them in public, "Consumers are still not that comfortable talking to tech," said Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi, "But this is changing, especially in the home, as devices such as Echo and Google Home roll out."The Galaxy S8 won't be the only device to have a physical button you press, Rhee envisions buttons on all Bixby-enabled devices, "The button is so important in a way," Rhee said, noting that in the future we'll have numerous smart devices in our homes that talk to us, evutec aergo ballistic nylon iphone 8 tough case & vent mount - black "You say, 'Hello Bixby,' and everything wakes up and speaks to you, Having the button simplifies things for us, technologically and also user experience-wise."Your washing machine or remote control may not just have a Bixby button, It may also one day have a fingerprint sensor, iris scanner or some other kind of biometrics to be sure it's actually you using the machine, Rhee said..
Bixby may also show up as an app in devices from other companies in the future, including Apple's iPhone, Rhee said. "Personally, it makes sense to me," he said. As my time with Rhee wound down, I asked him something that's been on my mind since Bixby rumors started: Why did Samsung need to create its own digital assistant instead of using technology from Android software maker Google?. "Philosophically, we're looking at revolutionizing the phone interface," Rhee said. "We know and understand our applications better than anybody else out there. .. We control our experience, and as a device manager, that's really been our soul."First published March 20, 6 a.m. PT. Update at 10:20 a.m.: Adds additional Bixby details.