Samsung’s head of mobile, T.M. Lo, explained the artificial intelligence features that are part of Galaxy AI at the Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris, France on July 10, 2024.
Arjun Karpal | CNBC
PARIS — Samsung plans to launch an upgraded version of its Bixby voice assistant this year that is based on its own artificial intelligence model, the head of the company’s mobile business told CNBC.
The popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT has brought digital assistants back into the spotlight, and Samsung’s mobile chief TM Roh told CNBC that the company plans to unveil a further upgraded Bixby this year that uses the South Korean tech giant’s own large language model (LLM).
“We plan to apply Gen AI technology to evolve Bixby,” Roh said in Korean through an interpreter.
Bixby was released with Samsung’s Galaxy S8 smartphone in 2017. The voice assistant has a variety of features, including live translation and restaurant recommendations. With the Bixby Vision tool, you can use your phone’s camera to scan what’s in front of you and Bixby will provide you with information about it.
CNBC previously reported that Samsung was working on a Bixby upgrade, but this is the first time the company has confirmed a launch timeline.
Gen AI, or generative AI, refers to artificial intelligence that can generate content such as answers to questions or images. LLM is the foundation of generative AI: an AI model trained on vast amounts of data.
But Lo said Samsung is sticking with its strategy of equipping its devices with multiple voice assistants, including Google’s own AI assistant, which is available on Samsung’s latest devices.
Roh’s confirmation of the Bixby upgrade comes just a month after Apple announced an AI upgrade for its assistant, Siri, which will now be able to utilize OpenAI’s ChatGPT when it needs to answer more questions.
The Bixby upgrade is part of a broader effort by Samsung to build AI capabilities into its device fleet, as the company on Wednesday launched two new foldable devices — the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6 — and unveiled several new AI tools in an effort to encourage people to upgrade to more premium smartphones.
“We are introducing and enhancing more AI capabilities into our products,” Lo said.
“As consumers leverage AI capabilities more and more, they’ll really see the convenience and benefits. We believe these Galaxy AI, mobile AI, will be a powerful motivator and driver for new product purchases.”
