Major Bixby update will let you answer calls with an AI version of your voice
Samsung has a new take on robocalls
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Samsung’s in-house voice assistant,Bixby, may not have the user base to rival fellow voice assistants Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant, but the AI-powered helper is getting a suite of much-needed upgrades to further level up thebest Samsung phones.
Specifically, Samsung’s Bixby update – which will be rolling out to Samsung Galaxy users throughout February – brings significant improvements to the software’s ability to recognize language.
For instance, English speakers can now answer calls by simply typing a message, which Bixby then converts into audio to be communicated to the caller on their behalf. The feature, called Bixby Text Call, can also be customized to feature AI-generated versions of users' actual voices, Samsung says.
Bixby Custom Voice Creator allows users to record different sentences that the AI will analyze and turn into custom replies. Samsung’spress releasenotes that the feature is “currently available in Korean” and will soon be rolled out to “other Samsung apps beyond phone calls,” which is slightly confusing wording, so we’ve reached out to the company for clarification on whether it’ll be available in English at launch.
Bixby’s latest update also adds the ability to create a personalized wake-up phrase, though, again, this seems limited to the Korean language for now.
It’s also worth noting that Bixby Text Call – which Samsungs says is available on selected models including theSamsung Galaxy S23,Galaxy S23 Plus,Galaxy S23 Ultra,Galaxy Z Fold 4andGalaxy Z Flip 4– requires One UI 5.1 or above for phones operating in English. By the looks of things, Bixby Custom Voice Creator is limited to the Galaxy S23, S23 and S23 Ultra for now.
A much brainier Bixby
In addition to these call-related features, Samsung’s Bixby update also makes the assistant more effective at dealing with follow-up requests.
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As the company notes, “Bixby can better understand intent and process follow-up requests by understanding context and associating words previously used in interactions. For example, Bixby users can first launch a workout on Samsung Health and then ask Bixby to play music that best suits that exercise by saying ‘Play music for this workout.’” Neat.
Again, however, it looks like this feature is currently limited to the Korean language, though Samsung notes that “more languages [will] be supported” in the future.
And finally, Bixby’s offline capabilities have been improved. Users can now ask the voice assistant to carry out basic functions – like setting timers, taking screenshots or turning on the flashlight – even when their phone isn’t connected to the web.Appleintroduced similar functionality to Siri withiOS 15, so we’re glad to see Samsung bringing its voice assistant in line with the competition here.
For more AI-related news, check out our report on theAI-generated image that recently won a photography contest, or read our Computing Editor’s thoughts on whyAI is going to ruin humanity – just not in the way we might expect.
Axel is TechRadar’s UK-based Phones Editor, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest AI breakthroughs as part of the site’s Mobile Computing vertical. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion.
Axel studied for a degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick before joining TechRadar in 2020, where he then earned an NCTJ qualification as part of the company’s inaugural digital training scheme.
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