Samsung Galaxy S8 buyers in the US face a further delay in being able to access the vendor’s Bixby assistant, as the voice service continues to struggle with comprehending the English language.
The company unveiled Bixby in March and initially planned to offer South Korean and English language versions of the assistant on its flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone. While the deployment in its home market went ahead, the vendor hit problems with the English version, forcing it to postpone the launch of the feature in the US.
While Samsung reportedly targeted availability by late May, ongoing problems mean Bixby won’t be available in the US until end-June at the earliest, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
Samsung’s only official word on the matter is Bixby would be ready in the US “later this spring”. Although the voice operation is currently lagging, the vendor highlighted the availability of other virtual assistant features including visual offerings.
However, Bixby’s pains with English continues to grab headlines. A source told WSJ the assistant is struggling to comprehend English syntax and grammar.
Following Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphone debacle, the pressure has been on the company to ensure its latest smartphone performs well and without major hiccups. The company positioned Bixby as a major selling point for the Galaxy S8, insisting it was smarter than rival voice assistant offerings on the market.
The company made its ambitions in the artificial intelligence segment clear after acquiring US start-up Viv Labs in 2016.
In an emailed statement to WSJ, a company representative suggested Bixby needed more time understand the English language.
“Bixby Voice benefits from time to further enhance natural language understanding, and we are currently growing our user testing in the US to prepare for launch.”
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