So, Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Will Have Artificial Intelligence!
Samsung would hoping the digital assistant will help it gain lost market traction.
As devices and hardware reached a plateau of sorts in 2016 (and we hope that this levelling out is only in preparation of a great jump-off point for the next evolution of the devices), the focus saw some tilt from hardware to software and services.
The next evolution on the anvil seems to be the on software running the phones’ cameras and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Artificial Intelligence, a term used for the ability of a machine, computer or system to exhibit humanlike intelligence, and is widely expected to represent the next frontier of computing.
With that in mind, AI-powered voice assistants have suddenly become all the rage, offering a hands-free and more natural way to ask questions, find information and manage tasks to enable our busy lives.
Google has long dominated this sphere with Google Now, and took this up a notch with the launch of Assistant with its Pixel smartphones.
It looks like Samsung is up next with its own virtual assistant. Samsung had already confirmed earlier that the upcoming Galaxy S8 will feature an AI assistant. Sam-mobile has now reported that that the company will use its new virtual assistant, called Bixby, in mostly all the native apps that will come pre-installed in the Galaxy S8.
The announcement from the South Korean consumer electronics giant comes a month after they revealed their plans to acquire the artificial intelligence startup behind Viv, a voice assistant that aims to handle everyday tasks on its own.
Viv Labs, a US-based artificial-intelligence software company concocted Viv after developers at Viv Labs helped craft Siri, Apple’s voice-based digital assistant.
Clearly Samsung would be hoping that the digital assistant will help it rebound from the public relations and business nightmare created by the recalls and cancellation of Galaxy Note7, and also help Samsung devices stay relevant at the top-end of the smartphones mountain.
As a side note, last month, Samsung’s Mobile Division, the division responsible for the Note7, reported a decline in operating profit of about 96% — its lowest in nearly eight years.
The news about Bixby was conformed by Reuters when they reported conjecture indicating that Samsung plans to incorporate the platform into its line of Galaxy phones, home appliances as well as wearable devices.
It was further reported in late November that Samsung’s AI assistant will have male and female voice called Bixby and Kestra, respectively.
Samsung will replace S Voice with the more powerful, intelligent assistant and the new Viv-based voice assistant will try to go toe to toe with Google’s Assistant and Apple’s Siri with a system-wide reach and an API open for third party developers.
For example, it might prove handy inside the Gallery app where you can ask Bixby (or Kestra) to show you pictures and videos that satisfy particular criteria (similar to Google Photos and or Apple’s Photos app in iOS 10).
Clearly, in order to incorporate Bixby more cohesively into user-flows, Samsung will also update its native apps with a new UI.
According to the most recent rumor, the Galaxy S8 may pack a whopping 8 GB of RAM, using Samsung’s 10nm process. While the LeEco Le 2S may beat Samsung by introducing a smartphone with 8 GB RAM in the coming year, but this is still a huge endowment and will help power new interactions and apps that are more resource hungry and always-on apps.
Additional rumours suggest the Galaxy S8 may ditch the 3.5 mm jack and may integrate an optical fingerprint scanner, among other things.
Get ready for 2017, it’s going to be an interesting year! And maybe, we’ll get to a point where your phone will understand you when no one else seems to.
What comfort! Now, if only it’d brew a cup of Hot Chocolate of it’s own accord…
Originally published at Chip-Monks.
