In a statement ahead of the Galaxy S8’s April 21 launch, Samsung has said that Bixby Voice won’t be supported in the U. S. until later in the spring.
One of the marquee features of the Galaxy S8 is Bixby, Samsung’s response to the Siris, Google Assistants, and Cortanas of the world. Billed as “a new way to interact with your phone,” Samsung has gone so far as to add a dedicated button on the side of the phone to summon its new assistant, and has integrated it deeply into the S8’s interface. There’s just one problem: You won’t be able to talk to Bixby at launch.
In a statement released about a week before the S8 is set to hit shelves, Samsung confirmed that its new AI assistant will be missing a key component. While it will support Vision, Home and Reminder when it launches on April 21, Bixby Voice won’t be included on U. S. models. Samsung says the feature will arrive “later this spring.”
While the other Bixby features will be available, you’ll need to use them as you would any other app. For the AR-syle Vision, you’ll find an icon in the camera app that will call on Bixby’s services for translation, QR code detection, landmark recognition, and shopping.
