Samsung finally joined the bandwagon of virtual assistants with its AI-powered Bixby that was launched alongside the Galaxy S8. The Bixby was touted as a better alternative to SIRI and Google Assistant since it would actually help people use the features on their phone. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal has revealed that Samsung is working on a voice-activated speaker of its own and the project is codenamed ‘Vega’.
The Vega will be joining the Amazon, and Google products and space is expected to get crowded since Apple and Microsoft are also prepping their own smart speakers. At this moment the details regarding project Vega are scarce in nature. In fact, Samsung is yet to decide on the specs and the features. Needless to say, if the Bixby speakers want to create a dent in the market, they should come equipped with a class leading feature.
Samsung has been bullish about the Bixby, and since the company senses that the smart AI-powered speakers are the future, it’s very likely that Vega will be offered in different variants. This is what Samsung VP Injong Lee had to say in a recent blog post, “Starting with our smartphones, Bixby will be gradually applied to all our appliances. In the future, you would be able to control your air conditioner or TV through Bixby. Since Bixby will be implemented in the cloud, as long as a device has an internet connection and simple circuitry to receive voice inputs, it will be able to connect with Bixby”
That being said, it seems like Samsung jumped the gun when it came to the Bixby and as a result, it has not been very popular with the users. In fact, Samsung was forced to release the S8 without Bixby in the U.S. The company is still ironing out the issues and is rolling out the Bixby smart assistant in a phased manner.