[Yonhap Photo]
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Aju News) -- To compete with Apple and Google, Samsung Electronics will release a revamped version of "Bixby", an AI-based voice assistant software, later this year.
"Based on the current development status, I think it is possible to introduce Bixby 2.0 in Galaxy Note 9 during the second half of this year," Samsung President Koh Dong-jin said at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain
Samsung ambitiously released the first generation of Bixby along with its flagship smartphone Galaxy S8 in 2017 but the market reaction was cold, with consumers complaining about the lack of usability. Some consumers urged Samsung to allow the removal of Bixby from their phones, arguing Bixby does not fully understand voice commands.
Koh admitted Bixby had been launched in a hurry. "We had problems expanding the eco-system for Bixby 1.0 because its release was earlier than we thought," he said, adding the company is working hard to strengthen Bixby 2.0.
Samsung now runs the open-beta tests of Bixby 2.0, with more than 800 tech firms participating in the project, so that it can analyze the usage pattern of smartphones and provide an effective and efficient user experience. "The voice assistant will provide a full user experience," Koh said.
Apple and Google provide their own operating systems with intelligent assistants capable of carrying out tasks such as managing schedules, searching for music online and reserve movie tickets.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
