Since Samsung acquired advanced AI platform ‘Viv’ last month, there’s been a lot of talk about the company providing a new AI assistant on the upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone.
A possible name for the virtual assistant has even been uncovered, via a trademark filing in South Korea, which suggests the AI could be called ‘Bixby’ when it arrives on the S8 – expected to debut in February.
Now, Samsung has confirmed (via Reuters) it is indeed planning to launch a new AI assistant on its upcoming flagship handset.
Related: Galaxy S8 – Everything we know
While it didn’t confirm the name, the company said it plans to integrate the Viv platform into the phone’s software, and ‘expand voice-assistant services to home appliances and wearable technology devices’.
Unfortunately, the South Korean firm did not provide much more in the way of details, but reportedly confirmed the new digital assistant will make interacting with third-party services much easier.
The Viv branding
The report quotes Samsung Executive Vice President, Rhee Injong, as saying: “Developers can attach and upload services to our agent. Even if Samsung doesn’t do anything on its own, the more services that get attached the smarter this agent will get, learn more new services and provide them to end-users with ease.”
The software is capable of ‘writing its own code’, which the company refers to as “dynamic program generation”, in order to carry out tasks it previously couldn’t.
Providing a capable AI assistant on the Galaxy S8 will go a long way towards helping the handset compete in a market where artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly popular.
Google’s recently launched Pixel phones come with an upgraded version of the Google Assistant, which also features on the company’s Google Home smart speaker.
Samsung will be looking to make a splash with its own software then, especially following the Note 7 debacle which has seen the firm take a huge financial hit.
The S8 is expected to launch in February at MWC 2017, with a new design that could feature an edge-to-edge display.
We’ll likely hear a lot more about the phone’s AI capabilities in the very near future, so stay tuned for the latest.
WATCH: Galaxy S8 – Everything we know
Let us know what you think of Samsung’s AI plans in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
