Samsung’s Bixby assistant is now available for Galaxy S8 owners worldwide

Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant is now global after it expanded into over 200 countries today.

Bixby is Samsung’s answer to Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and other virtual assistants. It got off to a bumpy start when it didn’t ship with the launch of the Galaxy S6, Samsung’s top-of-the-range device for this year, in March. Samsung rolled out a ‘preview’ version in June, before the full version with voice-control went live for Korea and then U.S.-based users in July.

There is a limitation to this global rollout, since it will only be available to those who own the Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6+. Samsung does intend to bring Bixby to more devices, but we don’t currently know which ones or when. If you believe the rumors, the assistant will eventually go beyond phones with Samsung planning to release a smart speaker of its own.

Samsung said in the immediate future, beyond more device support, it will work on new languages, features and integrations with third-party apps.

“The expansion of Bixby’s voice capabilities is an initial step in the continued rollout of Bixby functionality. In the future, Bixby will have the learning power to offer more intelligent and personalized interactions and seamless connections across more devices,” said Injong Rhee, executive VP and head of R&D, software and services for Samsung’s mobile business.

Featured Image: Samsung