What is Samsung Bixby and how to use on Android?
If you have heard about the Samsung Bixby or Bixby Routines and interested to know about its features and usage, read this article to know what are the various offerings of Samsung Bixby on Android phones.
Another new term called the 'Samsung Bixby' is making a lot of buzz among Samsung fans. This is why most existing and interested new customers are very much excited to know more details on what is being offered. We would like to inform our readers that Bixby is Samsung's personal voice assistant. But there lies a subtle difference between it and any other service of its kind.
Samsung claims that Bixby can unlock the full potential of your Samsung device and you can get more work done whilst using it on a regular basis.
It also offers voice assistance and powered with machine learning you can just imagine how helpful can it be. In simple terms, it can improve your work efficiency to a high degree. It can even guide you by displaying all the information that you are looking at and keep you updated with the daily routine.
What is Samsung's Bixby and how can it help?
We have already given you an overview of what Bixby is. Thus, before diving into more details we would like to clarify that right now this service is available on selected Samsung devices.
It's available on phone series such as the Galaxy S8 / S8+, Galaxy S9 / S9+, Galaxy Note8. The Galaxy Note 9 has also got the new Bixby.
Another requirement for Bixby to work on compatible devices is that there should be a data network connection (either mobile data or WiFi) and an active Samsung Account.
With the above minimum pre-requisites in check, Bixby can run within most used Android apps. It runs within apps such as the camera, gallery or even the Internet browser and pushes all the required information in the tap of a Vision icon available in your viewfinder. It thereby serves contextual icons pertaining to the translation of contents in different languages. Similarly, it recognizes a landmark or detects QR code or shopping etc.
Since it has those machine learning capabilities, Bixby is well acquainted with your usage pattern. It thus ensures that you get quick access to whatever content or app you are looking for in the least required swipe or tap. But if you are concerned with your privacy while using Bixby then that's the decision you are required to make while using any personal assistant app.
Samsung's Bixby can analyze all your data such as your recent Uber ride or your recent messages and also upcoming events marked on your calendar. This might sound scary for some but this is how pocket assistant apps work and you need to grant permission for all these actions.
Moreover, its capability to set action based reminders for any supported app is a great attraction of Bixby's usage. For instance, you can get Samsung Bixby to remind you to watch a certain video on reaching home. Its smart reminder feature reminds you of what to do or what you want and when.
How to activate the Bixby feature on Android?
Samsung smartphone users having a compatible phone as mentioned above can activate Bixby personal assistant by using the Bixby key. It does not matter whether the phone is either locked or unlocked. You can also access the Bixby Home by swiping to the right from the Home screen. Otherwise, it can be done by pressing and holding the Bixby key and giving a voice input such as "Hi Bixby!" to open the Bixby Voice.
While using Bixby Voice, you will find a feature called Open Trivia. It helps to find relevant news articles, videos, webpages etc. against any question asked, in general, that is related to an entity. You can also easily change the language from the default to any other preferred language. This can be done from the Language & speaking style option available under Settings of Bixby Home.
But, it does not offer any change in voice as of now. Using the default voice option, one can ask it any question such as what is the weather forecast of the day at a particular region. Or we can even inquire about events organized nearby.What is Bixby Reminder and is it helpful?
Smart reminder service as offered by Samsungs own personal voice assistant Bixby is unique and quite helpful. This is because it can set reminders based on time and location of any event. It can take reminders either by voice input or by touch feature. We can also configure it with different Set conditions or Reminder conditions.
These reminders can be either in the format of a text or a checklist. Else, we can even go with it to the next level and create reminders with actionable tasks. These tasks may be like making a call or texting someone at a specified time. Similarly, it can be scheduling a reminder to revisit media content at a particular time of our preference.How does Bixby Recommend work?
This one is the most important feature that you will definitely appreciate once you get going with it. Using its machine learning capabilities, Bixby knows exactly what you will require at what time and presents you with all that you need at a glance and you won't need to open a single app for that. It actually knows what apps you will need during any time of the day and based on this routine and analyzing the usage pattern, it delivers the right content exactly when you need it.
For example, if you regularly go for a walk or workout in the morning, all relevant apps that you use during such time will be accessible. These can be such as setting up an alarm to wake you in the morning. Or, it can be the health app to consult the different metrics during a workout or brisk jogging. The weather app to check whether an outdoor walk could be foiled by rain is also used in the morning by many. And, the music player is among the favorites to play the playlist of your choice. All these apps will be accessible right away via Bixby.
Similarly, you may be used to reading news or flipping through Facebook updates during the lunch break. In such cases, Brixby will bring the right cards to you that matters most during that time of the day.
The interesting part of all this is that it can all be done and conveniently accessible from a single screen with multiple functions that can be used across many of your favorite apps on Android.
Conclusion
Samsung Bixby is a personal voice assistant like none other. Even if we compare it with popular personal assistant like the Google Assistant, it still scores very high. With all the convenient features that make life easy for most people, Bixby is the way to go. For example, features like Bixby Vision is revolutionary. It powers the phone camera to extract and translate any text it is pointed against. Similarly, it also searches for similar images the camera is pointing to. It can even redirect for shopping the item our camera is visualizing.
We even liked it the most when Bixby Routines automated and enabled the Before Bed Routine. It dims the brightness of the phone's display or activates the Night Mode. It even mutes the sound during sleep time. It is also compatible with Google apps. All these integrations not only impress us but is also actually very interesting and helpful in different possible ways.
Have you heard about Bixby personal voice assistant from Samsung. We will appreciate your feedback and opinion on this next level personal assistant app on Samsung's Android smartphones.
