TM Roh, head of Samsung’s mobile division, discusses the factitious intelligence featues as a part of Galaxy AI on the Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris, France on July 10, 2024.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
PARIS — Samsung will launch an upgraded version of its voice assistant Bixby this yr based by itself artificial intelligence models, the pinnacle of the corporate’s mobile business told CNBC.
Digital assistants are back within the highlight because of the recognition of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. TM Roh, the pinnacle of Samsung’s mobile division, told CNBC that the corporate can be unveiling an additional upgraded Bixby this yr that uses the South Korean technology giant’s own large language model, or, LLM.
“We’ll advance Bixby with application of Gen AI technology,” Roh said in Korean via a translator.
Bixby launched in 2017 with Samsung’s Galaxy S8 smartphone. The voice assistant has a wide range of functions including live translations and restaurant recommendations. The Bixby Vision tool allows an individual to make use of their phone camera to scan whatever is in front of them after which Bixby will offer up details about it.
CNBC previously reported that Samsung was working on an upgraded Bixby, but that is the primary time the corporate has confirmed a timeline for the launch.
Gen AI, or generative AI, refers to artificial intelligence that’s in a position to generate content reminiscent of answers to questions or images. An LLM is the AI model, trained on huge amounts of information, that underpins generative AI.
Samsung nonetheless, will maintain its strategy of allowing multiple voice assistants on its devices, Roh said. For instance, Google’s own AI assistant is obtainable on Samsung’s latest devices.
Roh’s confirmation of its Bixby upgrade comes just over a month after Apple announced its assistant Siri can be getting an AI upgrade. Siri will have the option to tap into OpenAI’s ChatGPT when needed to reply more queries.
The Bixby upgrade is an element of Samsung’s broader push to market AI features on its suite of devices. On Wednesday, the corporate launched two recent foldable devices — the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Z Flip6 — and unveiled some recent AI tools in a bid to get people to upgrade to more premium smartphones.
“We’re reinforcing and bringing more AI capabilities to our products,” Roh said.
“As consumers use more AI capabilities they’ll actually feel the convenience and advantages they bring about. I think strongly that these Galaxy AI, mobile AI are strong motivations and drivers for the acquisition of recent products.”