US English and Korean were supposed to be the only markets in which Bixby was supported at launch – but Samsung now says its voice assistant won’t be supported in the US until “later this Spring”.
Last month, Samsung unveiled its new mobile flagships, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. Both handsets are packed with high-end specs and features, including dual-curved displays, Snapdragon 835 chips, iris and facial recognition, and DeX – a new PC-like desktop experience with mouse and keyboard support via an optional docking station , similar to Microsoft’s Continuum.
Another significant feature of the new devices is Bixby, Samsung’s new digital assistant and ‘intelligent interface’. The company spent a great deal of time talking about Bixby when it unveiled the S8 and S8+, but has now confirmed that it will launch without one of its key features in the US.
Samsung previously described Bixby as “a new way to interact with your phone”, and “fundamentally different from other voice agents or assistants in the market”.
