Samsung announces Bixby voice assistant preview

Nearly two months after the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus’ launch, users might finally be getting access to one of the phones’ main selling points: a new virtual assistant called Bixby. Today Samsung announced an assistant preview in which some S8 and S8 Plus owners can test Bixby’s voice features before anyone else.

Only a limited number of people will receive this early access, Samsung says, so there are no guarantees even if you sign up. Still, you can try your luck here. This early access will let users send a text, change their settings, or make phone calls with their voice.

We don’t know when the preview will launch other than in the “near future.” Already, S8 and S8 Plus owners can use limited Bixby features, like Bixby Vision augmented reality, Bixby Home, and Reminders. The delay in shipping its full voice assistant is reportedly attributed to the company’s difficulty in optimizing it for English commands. This makes sense given that Bixby already fully launched in South Korea. Samsung shows no signs of letting that hurdle hold it back, though, as it announced this past month that it plans to build Bixby into its smart fridges and eventually expects to include the assistant in all its products.