Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event, scheduled for January 22, 2025, is generating significant anticipation, especially with numerous teasers hinting at groundbreaking innovations for the Galaxy S25 series. The focus seems to be on the potential revival of Bixby, Samsung's voice assistant, which may take on a more sophisticated role, signaling a substantial leap forward in its capabilities. This could be one of the most significant updates in Samsung's strategy, particularly in the realm of AI-powered assistant features.
Bixby, which first debuted with the Galaxy S8 series in 2017, has always struggled to make a lasting impact, especially when compared to more established voice assistants like Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa. While these competitors have gained significant traction over the years, Bixby found itself falling behind, unable to compete with the complexity and range of functionalities offered by its rivals. As a result, Samsung scaled back its promotion of Bixby, leaving the assistant to play a relatively minor role in the ecosystem. However, it now appears that Samsung is set to make a concerted effort to transform Bixby into a more advanced and capable assistant.
Teasers for the January event reveal a glimpse of Bixby’s enhanced abilities, particularly in handling complex, multi-step requests. In one teaser video, a user asks Bixby to find a pet-friendly Italian restaurant with outdoor seating, book a reservation, and share the details with a friend. This seamless interaction is a significant leap from the past, when Bixby often struggled to handle such intricate tasks efficiently.
Samsung has already begun testing an upgraded version of Bixby in China, rolling it out on the Galaxy W25 and W25 Flip models. The upgraded Bixby, powered by a large language model (LLM) similar to the technology behind Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is capable of comprehending more nuanced commands and responding with context-aware replies. This new version of Bixby is also able to deliver results in various formats, including text and video. Moreover, it can now translate web pages and interact with Microsoft Office files, such as Word and PowerPoint documents, enhancing its functionality beyond basic commands.
From a design perspective, the new Bixby offers a sleeker, modernized interface that supports multitasking. Users can now invoke Bixby over other apps, allowing for quick interactions without disrupting their ongoing activities. This is a crucial upgrade, as it gives Bixby more flexibility and utility in day-to-day use, something its previous iterations lacked.
While the new version of Bixby has already been available to users in China, the January Galaxy Unpacked event is expected to mark its global debut, likely making its way to the Galaxy S25 series. This could be a game-changer for Samsung, as it could redefine how users interact with their smartphones, allowing for more complex and efficient task management through voice commands. The upgraded Bixby would enable users to execute tasks that require multiple steps or involve interacting with various apps in a much more seamless manner. The ability to ask Bixby to perform a series of actions in one go — like finding a restaurant, booking a reservation, and sharing the details with a friend — is a huge leap from what Bixby has previously been capable of.
Another exciting feature of the new Bixby is its on-screen awareness. This means that Bixby will be able to recognize and respond to what’s currently displayed on the phone, offering more relevant and contextually accurate responses. This is a significant improvement that would allow users to engage with their phones more intuitively, making it easier to access and control content without switching between apps.
The best part of this upgrade is that it’s not limited to the new Galaxy S25 series. Since the AI enhancements don't require the latest hardware, Samsung plans to extend the updated Bixby to existing devices as well. This means that current Samsung smartphone users, not just those with the latest models, will also be able to benefit from these new features. This broader rollout could lead to a more uniform experience across Samsung devices, potentially making Bixby a more integral part of the Samsung ecosystem.
While it remains to be seen whether this revamped Bixby can go toe-to-toe with the likes of Google Assistant, Gemini, or Siri, it's clear that Samsung is not backing down from its ambitions to make Bixby a more competitive player in the AI space. The January Galaxy Unpacked event will likely provide more details on these new features, and we could see a major shift in how voice assistants are used on smartphones. If the new Bixby lives up to its potential, it could significantly change how users interact with their Galaxy devices and set a new benchmark for voice-assisted functionality in the smartphone industry. We’ll have to wait and see how it unfolds.
