Samsung is Developing a Smart Speaker Using 'Bixby' Virtual Assistant

[MacRumors]

Samsung is developing a voice-activated smart speaker to rival the likes of the Amazon Echo and Apple's forthcoming HomePod, according to a report published on Tuesday.

The project, internally codenamed "Vega", will be based on Samsung's Bixby virtual assistant, but many of the speaker's features and specifications have yet to be decided, according to sources who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. Development is said to have been going on for more than a year but has reportedly been hampered by delays to Bixby itself.

Apple's HomePod, set for release this December.​

The company's Siri rival was first announced in March ahead of the debut of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, but an English-language version of the assistant has yet to make it into Samsung's phones because of performance issues. Samsung now says Bixby is unlikely to be fully introduced before the second half of July.

The connected speaker market has seen rapid growth over the last few years. Amazon released its Echo range of speakers in 2014, before the Google Home appeared a year later. Since then, Microsoft has opened up its Cortana assistant for use in third-party speakers, while just last month Apple announced it Siri-powered HomePod will be available by the end of the year.

Amazon's Echo commands more than 70 percent of the U.S. market for connected speakers, with the Google Home capturing around 24 percent, according to eMarketer, a research firm. The number of Americans using voice-activated speakers will reach about 36 million this year, said eMarketer, double last year's figure.

Article Link: Samsung is Developing a Smart Speaker Using 'Bixby' Virtual Assistant

 

[69Mustang]

Why Samsung? Lemme guess, it's only going to work with latest Samsung hardware. Bixby... even Siri giggles at you. Siri.

 

[WRChris]

Look we can do the same thing as everyone else.

 

[Wanted797]

Samsung fires up the old photocopier.

 

[EsmeraldaDoll]

Copy cats

 

[addictive]

Imagine if a company with Samsung's resources had its own ideas and innovation. It could be a truly game changing company leading to a more interesting world. Instead we get a facsimile of other company's products and Samsung willing to pay fines after years spent in court.

 

[m.x]

It would be funny if they name it "Bixbox"

 

[Wanted797]

Imagine if a company with Samsung's resources had its own ideas and innovation. It could be a truly game changing company leading to a more interesting world. Instead we get a facsimile of other company's products and Samsung willing to pay fines after years spent in court.

The annoying thing is, people buy their 2nd rate products. Because they're usually so cheap compared to the competition. Almost giving them permission to continue.

 

[Ballis]

Please Samsung, add Mesh wifi into the mix and ill certainly consider it

 

[nfl46]

Lol. Samsung is at it again, with their half ass products. Sometimes it feels like they put no thought in their products and try to include as many beef up specs as they possibly could at the time.

 

[H2SO4]

Samsung fires up the old photocopier.

Right, and the Amazon version was out before the Apple version so does that mean that Apple copied Amazon and Samsung copied both?

 

[Jsameds]

Look we can do the same thing as everyone else.

Samsung fires up the old photocopier.

Copy cats

Did you all say the same when Apple announced their smart speaker?

 

[Sunny1990]

A Smart Speaker using a virtual assistant that doesnt work with the most used Languages ?
Samsung really need to work on bixby first,add support for more languages.

 

[9646829]

Samsung fires up the old photocopier.

Although Apple are late to the game as well this comment did make me laugh.

 

[EsmeraldaDoll]

Did you all say the same when Apple announced their smart speaker?

No because amazon doesn’t use Alexa in their speaker so yea

 

[9646829]

No because amazon doesn’t use Alexa in their speaker so yea

Uh, yeah they do?

 

[skinned66]

Just when I thought Apple was late to the party. The cops will show up before Samsung does.

 

[scwinsett]

The problem with this is that when Bixby gets frustrated it becomes Ferrigno

 

[69Mustang]

Imagine if a company with Samsung's resources had its own ideas and innovation. It could be a truly game changing company leading to a more interesting world. Instead we get a facsimile of other company's products and Samsung willing to pay fines after years spent in court.

Not as unoriginal as you might think.
"Vega is only the latest of Samsung’s speaker projects, which go back years, according to people familiar with the matter. The company had once planned to debut one code-named “Hive” in March 2015 at the Mobile World Congress in Spain, the people said, but it was quietly shelved over software issues including problems with voice recognition." - 9to5Google
So they've been working on this project since 2014. MR just forgot to include that part.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Of course.

Fast copier copies fast.
[doublepost=1499173831][/doublepost]

Of course.

Fast copier copies fast.

It's amazing they have the skills to copy everything, and do decently well, but not the creative talent to do major new things first and well.

 

[Sandstorm]

Of course, it's the Samsung (manufacturer of speakers of all kinds for decades) who is copying. The only "true innovator" is Apple - "perfecting" offers from Amazon and Google.

This religious attitude is absolutely pathetic.

 

[yg17]

Look we can do the same thing as everyone else.

Samsung fires up the old photocopier.

Copy cats

Imagine if a company with Samsung's resources had its own ideas and innovation. It could be a truly game changing company leading to a more interesting world. Instead we get a facsimile of other company's products and Samsung willing to pay fines after years spent in court.

No because amazon doesn’t use Alexa in their speaker so yea

Of course.

Fast copier copies fast.
[doublepost=1499173831][/doublepost]

It's amazing they have the skills to copy everything, and do decently well, but not the creative talent to do major new things first and well.

So, what flavor was the Kool-aid?

 

[kingalexthe1st]

Samsung Exec : "Amazon have made this home speaker"
Samsung CEO : "Ok, but wait just a bit...."
Samsung Exec : "Now Google have made a speaker. We really should make one to compete"
Samsung CEO : "Yeah, but waaaiiittttt....."
Samsung Exec : "Apple are making a spea.."
Samsung CEO : "WE SHOULD MAKE A SPEAKER"

Bonus conversation:
Samsung Exec : "How should we design it?"
Samsung CEO : "Uuuhh, like we always do? Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V"

 

[blacktape242]

Copy cats

I would use the word competition in this case.
But there have been plenty of instances where samsung have copied apple.

 

[Strelok]

Does Bixby actually work now? I thought it was funny they added a button dedicated to something that didn’t even work. And they made sure you couldn’t reprogram it