Bixby
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Samsung's Bixby now supports text-to-speech in English calls
Samsung rolls out English support for Text Call, which lets users answer calls by typing a message that Bixby will then read out loud.
Samsung SmartThings update helps prevent unwanted tag-based tracking
Samsung has unveiled an update to its SmartThings platform that includes Bixby voice control and a clever new feature that can detect if someone is tracking your location.
Samsung's old S Voice assistant will shut down in June
Bixby hasn’t made that much of a mark either, but now Samsung is pulling the plug on S Voice.
Samsung accidentally announced the Galaxy Home Mini's release date
Early today, on its South Korean website, Samsung posted that the Galaxy Home Mini will be released in South Korea on February 12th for 99,000 KRW, approximately $83. The post has since been removed, but it was online long enough to give us a few new details about the Galaxy Home Mini and suggest that rumors the device will arrive in early 2020 could be true.
Don't ask Samsung to say more about its rolling robot assistant
When we rolled (Ed note: groan) into Samsung's CES keynote address last night, we expected lots of platitudes about the power of AI and the experiences made possible by 5G. We got those, but also something else: Ballie, an adorable, rolling smart home control center that comes off like a mix between BB-8 and Haro from the Gundam series. Needless to say, I fell pretty hard for it.
Samsung’s Galaxy Home Mini is finally landing in early 2020
Samsung says it will release its first Bixby-powered smartspeaker sometime later this year. Hyunsuk Kim, CEO of the company's consumer electronics division, told Bloomberg the Galaxy Home Mini will be available to buy in "early 2020."
Samsung unveils an extra-large 8K TV for 2020
Samsung revealed its new QLED 8K TV last night in Korea, and now the US unveiling is under way. We already heard about interesting features like its "digital butler" that will control other devices, including older stuff that can't connect to networks using an IR blaster, multitasking with picture-in-picture and the AI ScaleNet tech that streams "8K quality" video by downconverting it to 4K with the TV upscaling it again on the receiving end. To start with, it's working with Amazon Prime to upscale standard-def video to 4K. Naturally, support for AI assistants like Samsung's Bixby is built-in, and starting this year you can choose to use Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa too. An Adaptive Picture feature recognizes the changing lighting in your room and automatically adjusts the display's settings to match. The Tizen OS also supports multitasking, with some 14 different ways to split up the screen, using side-by-side or various picture-in-picture layouts.
Samsung's zero-bezel 8K TV is real
Samsung Korea has announced the premium 8K TV it's bringing to CES 2020, confirming that the recently-leaked image is real. The Q950 is not only a super-high resolution TV, it also "sets a new standard" for TV screens with its Infinity Design -- according to the company at least. Other than a small edge along the bottom, there's really no frame to speak of, and Samsung says it measures only 15mm thick. Inside, its AI "quantum processor" powers a revamped UI that's good for upscaling any source to 8K as well as accessing TV over an antenna, or streaming services, with a universal guide that can combine recommendations from several apps at once.
Samsung update brings Watch Active2 features to earlier Watch models
Thinking about upgrading your Samsung Galaxy Watch to a Galaxy Watch Active2? You might want to hold off for now, as Samsung is rolling out an update that'll bring enhanced features to earlier-generation watches. This means that the Galaxy Watch and Watch Active will get the same user experience functionality found on their successor, the Watch Active2, including new health and Bixby features, as well as boosted customization options.
Samsung is testing its Galaxy Home Mini speaker in South Korea
Samsung hasn't even released the original Galaxy Home over a year after its reveal, but that isn't stopping the company from offering a peek at a follow-up speaker. The company has confirmed the existence of the Galaxy Home Mini by accepting sign-ups for a public beta testing program in South Korea. Residents with Samsung phones can apply by September 1st to try a tiny version of the Bixby speaker, which matches the earlier FCC filing to a tee -- it's an AKG-tuned audio bowl with some basic controls on top.
Samsung's Galaxy Home smart speaker is still alive, somehow
While Samsung's Unpacked event was mostly about the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+, a new S Pen and a Galaxy Book S laptop, plenty of observers expected some news on the fate of Galaxy Home. Samsung announced the smart speaker a year ago, but it's been beset by delays. Most recently, Samsung targeted a release window of the "mid-second half of the year" -- so perhaps sometime this quarter. The latest word is that Samsung is still working on the Bixby-powered device.
Samsung's Galaxy Note 10 doesn't have a headphone jack or Bixby button
Remember those Samsung ads mocking Apple's latest iPhones for not having a headphone jack? Well, it looks like the company is going to have to make some about itself. That's because, as leaks suggested, Samsung's new Galaxy Note 10 won't have one. Instead of a 3.5mm port, the smartphone will use USB-C for audio and basically anything else that requires physical connectivity. While the Note 10 comes with a pair of USB-C earbuds, the lack of a traditional 3.5mm jack means you'll need a dongle if you want to use your own, non-wireless headphones.
Samsung's Bixby Marketplace launches in the US and South Korea
Bixby may be the forgotten child of virtual assistants, but Samsung is still hoping it can break through and compete with the likes of Siri, Alexa and Cortana. The company has opened its Bixby Marketplace in the US and South Korea, where users can download services to customize their assistant.
Samsung delays its Galaxy Home smart speaker to Q3
Samsung has delayed the release of its Galaxy Home speaker. The Bixby-powered device should be on shelves sometime between July and September. Official confirmation of the delay shouldn't be too much of a surprise, as Samsung previously told Engadget it planned to put the speaker on shelves in the first half of the year, and there's still no whisper of a confirmed release date.
Samsung leak exposed source code, passwords and employee data
Samsung was reportedly leaking sensitive source code, credentials and secret keys for several internal projects. According to TechCrunch, independent security researcher Mossab Hussein discovered dozens of exposed files in a GitLab used by Samsung engineers and hosted on a company-owned domain. The projects were reportedly set to "public" and not protected with a password.
Samsung updates Galaxy Buds with Bixby voice controls
Thanks to a recent firmware update, Samsung's Galaxy Buds now work with the company's Bixby voice assistant. In addition to having hands-free control of music and audio, users can now use voice controls to request a battery status update, change to a different equalizer setting and lock the earbud touchpads. Unfortunately, the new firmware only supports English and Korean commands, and you'll still have to use the earbuds with a Galaxy phone or Android device.
Samsung Galaxy S10+ review: Another predictably great flagship
With all the foldable fever burning through MWC 2019, it's hard not to feel a little disappointed that the phone I'm reviewing is the S10+ and not the Galaxy Fold. But that doesn't mean the S10+ is a bad phone, even if the flagship line, and smartphones in general, are growing a little stale. The S10 and S10+ are the result of years of fine-tuning a formula, so much so that it feels like there's little room left to grow. For its tenth flagship, Samsung decided to focus on the display, camera and software, bringing the S10+ closer to perfection than ever. Despite some quirks and a $1,000 starting price, this is an excellent handset that still manages to pack a few surprises.
You can now remap the Bixby button on older Galaxy phones
When Samsung revealed its Galaxy S10 last week, one feature caused a buzz: the ability to remap the phone's Bixby button so that it opens any app. On older phones, the Bixby button simply opened Samsung's voice assistant, but that changed today. A software update is rolling out that allows you to remap the Bixby button on a handful of older models: Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S9/S9+ and the Galaxy S8/S8+.
Samsung will let you remap the Bixby button on older phones too
If the Bixby button on your Samsung Galaxy phone doesn't get much use, you might prefer to make it open another app. Samsung noted the remapping option when it revealed the S10 lineup this week, but if you have a slightly older Galaxy phone (namely, Note 9, S9, Note 8 or S8), you can customize the button too if your device is running Android Pie.
The S10 has a Bixby button, but it can be remapped to open any app
Samsung's newest, shiniest phones, the Galaxy S10 line, come with a Bixby button just like the company's previous devices, but this time around, there's a twist: The key is completely customizable. S10 owners can remap the Bixby button to open any app with a single or double press, according to The Verge.
