Samsung is making a smart speaker with Bixby, says WSJ

[captain_to_fire]

Sources: The Verge & Wall Street Journal

 

I can't wait for smart pillows and smart shoes that will let me run faster. 

Quote

Samsung is working on a smart speaker powered by its new Bixby voice assistant, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The project is said to be codenamed Vega, but little more is known about the device; its features and specifications are apparently yet to be decided, much less a release date.

 

The Vega project’s development is reportedly being slowed by the progress of Bixby itself. Samsung had to launch the Galaxy S8 without support for English voice commands, despite marketing Bixby as a prominent feature of the phone and giving it a dedicated button. Voice support started to roll out in preview form last month, but there’s clearly still a long way to go.

 

The WSJ now says Samsung sees the full release of Bixby voice support as “unlikely before the second half of July.”

I don't know how will Samsung be able to pull this off. Reviews of Bixby can be described as "just fine" at the moment and can't compete with Google Assistant and Siri on voice commands just yet. They better not put up their photocopiers and redo a trashcan with fishnet stockings design just like what Apple did. Would they be able to compete with audio quality? I don't know since audio reviews of the past Galaxy S7 and now the Galaxy S8 are kinda lackluster probably because of a crappy DAC.

Spoiler

 

 

[SamuelJE]

It's a joke if you ask me. As much as I love the Samsung hardware, I can never get behind their weird software design choices...

[Shreyas1]

Darn it, you stole what i wanted to post

 

Also, at this point, there are too many smart appliances

[DrMacintosh]

It was a challenge for Apple to make one, thats why they made it a speaker 1st and a smart home assistant second......I don't see how Samsung has the ability to do either well. 

 

Bixby is worse than Siri and from what I know Samsung Mobile would be making a dedicated speaker for the 1st time. 

 

Google and Amazon made their speakers assistants 1st, speakers second. Apple made theirs a speaker 1st and a home assistant second. 

 

I think the average user would much rather appreciate Apples approach. 

 

Lets see which way Samsung decides to go. (Imo, I'm not optimistic)

[captain_to_fire]

2 minutes ago, Shreyas1 said:

Darn it, you stole what i wanted to post

I call dibs on this one 

[Drak3]

27 minutes ago, Shreyas1 said:

Also, at this point, there are too many smart appliances

 There were too many when there was one.

[Sacriledgy]

34 minutes ago, hey_yo_ said:

Sources: The Verge & Wall Street Journal

 

I can't wait for smart pillows and smart shoes that will let me run faster. 

I don't know how will Samsung be able to pull this off. Reviews of Bixby can be described as "just fine" at the moment and can't compete with Google Assistant and Siri on voice commands just yet. They better not put up their photocopiers and redo a trashcan with fishnet stockings design just like what Apple did. Would they be able to compete with audio quality? I don't know since audio reviews of the past Galaxy S7 and now the Galaxy S8 are kinda lackluster probably because of a crappy DAC.

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Lol...... codename Vega

[Shreyas1]

14 minutes ago, Its Not Important said:

Lol...... codename Vega

if they delay the launch by nearly 6 months and everyone goes for their competitors, I will consider the entire thing satire.

[LAwLz]

Just a friendly reminder to everyone that Samsung owns Harman (and by extent, AKG, Kardon, JBL and many other audio brands).

Samsung owns some of the biggest audio brands in the world and I have absolutely no doubt that they could make a great speaker if they wanted to.

 

My biggest question is, who the hell would want a speaker that runs Bixby?

[Drak3]

2 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

My biggest question is, who the hell would want a speaker that runs Bixby?

Me, so that I can further continue to not use Bixby. I've got to get my non-using Bixby numbers up.

[Jito463]

Just now, LAwLz said:

My biggest question is, who the hell would want a speaker that runs Bixby?

I could say the same thing about Alexa/Siri/et al.

[Commodus]

1 hour ago, Jito463 said:

I could say the same thing about Alexa/Siri/et al.

The difference is that Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant are all mature AI voice helpers with an established level of competence (it's telling that the HomePod is music-focused, since that's Siri's strong point).  Samsung is still having trouble getting Bixby's voice features to work in any language other than Korean.  It's like announcing a trip to Mars when you've barely learned how to launch a rocket.

 

That and it's hard to shake the feeling that any eventual smart speaker would be classic Samsung: gigantic feature checklist, shoddy execution.  Yeah, it'll check the supplies in your Samsung smart fridge, but only after you yell a stiff-sounding command at the speaker for the fifth time.

[captain_to_fire]

2 hours ago, LAwLz said:

My biggest question is, who the hell would want a speaker that runs Bixby?

If you haven't noticed, Samsung is very slowly distancing themselves from Google. They even built their own mobile OS Tizen as a backup in the event (although unlikely) that Android flopped. While Google Assistant is still available on the new GS8/GS8+, the Bixby button is locked down to Bixby alone and all software tweaks to reprogram the button is disabled unless the person roots his/her phone. Which is why it doesn't came as a surprise that Samsung ditched Google for their alleged smart speaker. 

[Jito463]

18 minutes ago, Commodus said:

The difference is that Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant are all mature AI voice helpers with an established level of competence

I was thinking more about not wanting to own any "voice helper", not just how good it is.  Maybe it's just me, though.  I've never even used the voice function on my phone.  Ever.

[Drak3]

3 hours ago, Jito463 said:

I was thinking more about not wanting to own any "voice helper", not just how good it is.  Maybe it's just me, though.  I've never even used the voice function on my phone.  Ever.

I have, not really all that helpful. I had to test a headset's mic.

[TVwazhere]

I love the S8's bixby button; I use it all the time. As in, I've remapped the button to an app I actually use

[PCGuy_5960]

WSJ isn't a very credible source tho

[Orangeator]

On 7/5/2017 at 0:46 AM, hey_yo_ said:

I can't wait for smart pillows

https://shop.rem-fit.com/remfit-range/zeeq-pillow.asp?gclid=Cj0KCQjwv_fKBRCGARIsAL6R6egJpSI_XuqK5G8dh_orwsoz0emF7RzgWOEKvnYa4L79gxhlmOO6rhAaArWmEALw_wcB

[Commodus]

On 2017-07-05 at 7:20 PM, Jito463 said:

I was thinking more about not wanting to own any "voice helper", not just how good it is.  Maybe it's just me, though.  I've never even used the voice function on my phone.  Ever.

Voice assistants can be very helpful if you have smart home devices, want to check the weather or tend to sent reminders.  Nothing like turning all the lights on at home while you're taking off your coat.

[captain_to_fire]

12 minutes ago, Commodus said:

Voice assistants can be very helpful if you have smart home devices, want to check the weather or tend to sent reminders.  Nothing like turning all the lights on at home while you're taking off your coat.

The only thing I can make Siri useful is to set a timer when I'm cooking (Hey Siri, set timer for 45 minutes my roasted ribs). Unfortunately, Siri can't make multiple timers when I'm cooking more than one dish.