Samsung considers asking Google to help with improving Bixby

Samsung launched its virtual assistant, Bixby, with the release of the Galaxy S8, in 2017, and it’s been pushing it to users ever since, even giving it a dedicated hardware button on its devices. Currently, Bixby’s capabilities are no match for Google Assistant, but Samsung’s president of the consumer electronics division, Kim Hyun-suk, sees a potential partnership between the two companies.

At a press conference at IFA 2018, currently ongoing in Berlin, the Samsung executive said he sees multiple forms of collaboration that can be beneficial for both parties. What the CEO things will be most lucrative for Google is Samsung’s wide range of devices, in which Bixby can find its way soon. Through the Bixby integration, some Google Services can als be available to a wider user base. While most other companies only make simple speakers or displays that use virtual assistants, Samsung makes everything from printers to air conditioners, it would be pretty easy to have every electronic device in your house be made by Samsung. The company already has a line of smart refrigerators, so it won’t be a stretch to assume that it wants to have all sorts of smart home appliances under the rule of Bixby. And Samsung wants to offer Google a piece of the pie.

Samsung’s virtual assistant is already using Google for its searches, but the Samsung boss envisions further integration of Google’s products, like Google Maps for directions straight within the Bixby interface.