Bixby hasn’t exactly been the runaway success that Samsung hoped for when it introduced its own smart assistant last August. Unlike other A.I. assistants, such as Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, or Microsoft Cortana, Samsung Bixby was meant to anticipate users’ needs and almost serve as an extra set of hands, editing photos, sending messages, and composing emails on command.
It was also slated to eventually control smart home appliances and Internet of Things devices, but so far, it seems as though it’s a bit less useful than we’d hoped for. But things may be looking up for the smart assistant, especially now that it’s growing its roster of third-party integrations. This week, TheScore announced that it will be bringing live sports scores and news from top sports leagues like the NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, and EPL to Bixby.
While this may not seem like much, the move does represent an attempt by Samsung to make Bixby more applicable to users’ lives. Given the global popularity of sports and the frequency with which fans turn to their smartphones for updates, the addition of TheScore could serve Bixby well. The feature will make its debut in Bixby Home come August, and will allow users to create customized notifications based on sports or teams. However, it’s unclear how far-reaching the feature will actually be. On “select” Galaxy devices, you’ll be able to swipe right on home screens in order to get the most recent sports coverage.
Hopefully, Bixby will begin playing a larger role in our lives in the next several weeks. Samsung should be unveiling the Galaxy Note 9 in August, at which point the smart assistant should take center stage. This new flagship phone should feature an enhanced version of Bixby, named Bixby 2.0. Gray Lee, head of the A.I. Center under Samsung Research, has told the Korea Herald that the platform will be upgraded with enhanced language processes, improved noise resistance, and quicker response times.
Furthermore, Samsung has said that it plans to connect a total of 14 million products with Bixby this year and aims to connect them all by 2020. We’ll just have to see if it makes good on these promises.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.