Bixby (software) facts for kids
Logo used since 2025
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A summoned Bixby listening to a voice command in One UI 8
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| Developer(s) | Samsung Electronics |
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| Initial release | 21 April 2017 |
| Written in | Various, mostly JavaScript |
| Operating system | Android, Tizen, Windows, Wear OS |
| Predecessor | S Voice |
| Available in | 12 languages |
| Type | Intelligent personal assistant |
| License | Proprietary |
Bixby is a smart helper made by Samsung Electronics. It works on many Samsung devices. These include phones, TVs, and even some refrigerators and computers. You can talk to Bixby, and it understands what you say. It answers questions and helps you do tasks. Bixby also learns what you like and how you use your devices.
Samsung first launched Bixby in 2017. Today, Bixby has a voice assistant and Bixby Vision. Bixby Vision helps you search using your device's camera. Some older Bixby tools have new names. For example, Bixby Routines is now called Modes and Routines.
Contents
The Story of Bixby
How Bixby Started
Samsung first announced Bixby on March 20, 2017. It was designed to replace an older assistant called S Voice. Bixby came out with the Galaxy S8 and S8+ phones. It also launched with the Galaxy Tab A (2017). You could even put it on some older Galaxy phones.
At first, a special Bixby button on phones could be changed. You could set it to open other apps or assistants. However, Samsung later removed this feature with a software update.
Bixby's Language Journey
Bixby first launched in Korean on May 1, 2017. The English version for the US was delayed. Samsung needed more time to teach Bixby to fully understand English. It finally came out in English in July 2017. A Chinese version followed later that year.
New Versions and Features
In October 2017, Samsung released Bixby 2.0. This new version worked on more devices. These included TVs and refrigerators. Other companies could also create apps for Bixby. They used the Samsung Developer Kit.
Bixby 3.0 arrived in early 2021 with One UI 3. In this version, the Home and Reminders features became separate. In 2019, Samsung developers thought about using AR Emoji characters. They considered them as a visual way to show Bixby.
In June 2021, pictures of a 3D helper named Sam appeared online. Many people thought Sam would replace Bixby. However, it was not meant to be a replacement.
Bixby also came to Microsoft Windows computers in October 2021. It was available through the Microsoft Store. This version works best on Samsung's Galaxy Book laptops.
In 2023, Samsung let users create their own Bixby voice. This meant you could record your voice for Bixby to use.
In July 2024, Samsung announced an upgraded Bixby. This new version used Samsung's own advanced AI technology. This made Bixby much smarter with generative AI.
In January 2025, with the Galaxy S25 phones and One UI 7 update, Google Gemini became the main voice assistant. However, Samsung still develops Bixby. It received new AI features and became smarter. Samsung also brought this improved Bixby to its TVs. Now, you can talk to your TV and control smart home devices with Bixby. A new look for Bixby is expected with One UI 8.5.
What Bixby Can Do
Bixby is a voice assistant from Samsung. It helps you control your device. It also finds information and does tasks. You use your voice and artificial intelligence (AI) for this. Bixby can answer questions that depend on the situation. It can change system settings. It also performs searches and manages reminders. Bixby learns your voice to give you personalized answers.
The main voice part of Bixby was once called Bixby Voice. This helped tell it apart from other Bixby features.
Bixby Vision: Seeing the World
Bixby Vision uses your device's camera to understand what it sees. It looks at images and gives you information. It can identify objects, read text, and understand scenes. It uses both your phone's power and cloud AI to do this.
This feature comes pre-installed on Samsung Galaxy phones. It's like the "eyes" of Bixby.
Translate Text
Bixby Vision can see foreign text through your camera. Then, it translates the text right on your screen.
Read Text
This feature can read printed or handwritten words. You can then copy, search, or share that text.
Discover Items
It helps you find products, clothes, or furniture. It can show you similar items or information online.
Identify Wine Labels
It can recognize wine labels. It then gives you details like the type of wine, where it's from, its price, and reviews.
Describe Scenes
It can describe scenes it sees. It does this both in writing and by speaking. This helps people who cannot see well.
Identify Objects
It can identify plants, animals, food, or famous places. It shows you their names and other details.
Speak Text Aloud
It can read any text it sees aloud to you.
Detect Colors
It can find and name colors in a picture. It can show you the color name or say it aloud.
Old Bixby Tools
Bixby Home used to be a screen that showed information. This included weather and fitness activity. It was renamed Samsung Daily in 2020. Then it became Samsung Free in 2021. Samsung Free was later stopped in some places. Now, Samsung News offers a similar way to see news.
Bixby Routines let you set up automatic actions for your phone. For example, it could turn off Wi-Fi when you left home. With One UI 5.0, it became Modes and Routines.
Bixby Text Call helped you answer calls by typing messages instead of speaking. It came out in 2022. Now it's just called Text Call and is in your phone settings.
Bixby Touch let you tap on things on your screen to get more information. It could translate text or search for images. Many of its features are now part of Bixby Vision.
Other older Bixby features are no longer used. These include Bixby Global Action, Bixby Dictation, and Bixby Wakeup.
Where Bixby Speaks
By April 2018, Bixby was available in over 195 countries. It spoke Korean, American English, and Mandarin Chinese. Over time, more languages were added. In 2019, French, British English, German, Italian, and Spanish became available. In 2020, Portuguese (Brazil) was added.
Devices That Use Bixby
Flagship Series
- Galaxy S series: All models since Galaxy S7
- Galaxy Tab S: All models since Galaxy Tab S4
- Galaxy Note: All models since Galaxy Note FE and Galaxy Note 8
- Galaxy Z series: All models
Other Series
- Galaxy A
- Galaxy A6/A6+
- Galaxy A7 (2017) (South Korea only)
- Galaxy A7 (2018)
- Galaxy A8 (2018) (including A8 Star)
- Galaxy A8s
- Galaxy A9 (2018)/A9s/A9 Star Pro (including A9 Star and A9 Star Lite)
- Galaxy A9 Pro (2019)
- Galaxy A20
- Galaxy A21s
- Galaxy A30s
- Galaxy A40
- Galaxy A41
- Galaxy A50
- Galaxy A50s
- Galaxy A51
- Galaxy A52
- Galaxy A52s
- Galaxy A53 5G
- Galaxy A70
- Galaxy A70s
- Galaxy A71
- Galaxy A72
- Galaxy A73 5G
- Galaxy A80
- Galaxy A34 5G
- Galaxy A54 5G
- Galaxy A35 5G
- Galaxy A55 5G
- Galaxy A36 5G
- Galaxy A56 5G
- Galaxy M
- Galaxy M35 5G
- Galaxy M36 5G
- Galaxy F
- Galaxy F62
- Galaxy Tab A
- Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016)
- Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2017)
- Galaxy Tab A 10.5 (2018)
- Galaxy J
- Galaxy J4 (2018)
- Galaxy J7+ (2017)
- Galaxy J6 (2018)
- Galaxy J6+ (2018)
- Galaxy C
- Galaxy C8
Galaxy XCover
- Galaxy XCover Pro
Laptops
- Galaxy Book series: Models released from May 2021 onwards
More Smart Assistants
- List of chatbots
- Alexa
- Alice
- Clova
- Cortana
- Evi
- Google Lens
- Haptik
- Siri
- S Voice
- Viv (software)
