Samsung to debut Viv-based AI assistant alongside Galaxy S8

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in General Discussion
Samsung on Monday confirmed plans to include a new AI assistant with its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone, which should make use of the technology it acquired from Viv -- a firm founded by some of the people behind Apple's Siri.

Samsung's current top-of-the-line phone, the Galaxy S7 Edge.
Samsung's current top-of-the-line phone, the Galaxy S7 Edge.


Samsung didn't identify any specific features of the new assistant, except that third-party developers will be able to "attach and upload services," Reuters said. Siri gained support for third-party apps with September's introduction of iOS 10.

Viv's technology has been touted as better than Siri, for instance being able to mesh multiple services together without a person needing separate apps for each. If a person is ordering movie tickets, it can not only find showtimes but compare ticket prices, place or cancel orders, and suggest pre-show dinner locations.

In the short term Samsung's competition may not be Apple so much as Google, which despite making the Android OS many Samsung devices run on, recently launched self-branded Pixel phones with Google Assistant -- a more advanced AI than the one normally baked into Android phones. Users can, for example, ask contextual follow-up questions. "Who is Hillary Clinton?" can be followed up with "How old is she?" instead of having to specify Clinton's name again.

The Wall Street Journal recently suggested that AI will be so important to Samsung that the S8 could have a dedicated button for triggering its assistant. That might not be present on the phone's final design however, and the Journal indicated that the S8 might not premiere until April, two months after Samsung normally debuts its S-series flagships.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Will it include an early-warning explosion-detection system?
    xzumagman1979sockrolidmacseekerboltsfan17Mal_Rnolamacguywatto_cobralolliver
  • Reply 2 of 24
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    In the short term Samsung's competition may not be Apple so much as Google

    Bingo. 

    And in the long term, the more fragmentation of Android, the better for Apple. 
    magman1979sockrolidcaliDeelronMal_Rwatto_cobralolliverjony0
  • Reply 3 of 24
    xzuxzu Posts: 139member
    "Your Galaxy 8 will self-destruct in 3-2-1."
    magman1979sockrolidcaliMal_Rwatto_cobralolliver
  • Reply 4 of 24
    Poor Samsung (and Google). They all want to be like Apple with a complete hardware/software ecosystem.

    Samsung has been trying forever by making all their own Samsung specific versions of Android features (like S-Voice or S-Translate) and even opening their own app store. Then having "fake" developers post on sites like Stackoverflow to get them to code for Samsung only features in their Android apps. Adding Viv is just another attempt by Samsung to have their own version of a major Android feature (Assistant).

    They can't get developers to code for them now, so why do they think they'll start now?
    alphafoxsockrolidcaliDeelronMal_Rwatto_cobralolliver
  • Reply 5 of 24
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    That gold is yuck.
    magman1979watto_cobralolliver
  • Reply 6 of 24
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member
    "Hey Viv - what is the minimum safe distance when an S8 explodes?"

    "And is that greater or less than the minimum safe distance for the Note 7?"
    nolamacguywatto_cobralolliver
  • Reply 7 of 24
    mike1mike1 Posts: 3,275member
    "Viv's technology has been touted as better than Siri, for instance being able to mesh multiple services together without a person needing separate apps for each. If a person is ordering movie tickets, it can not only find showtimes but compare ticket prices, place or cancel orders, and suggest pre-show dinner locations."

    Sounds wrong. How can the voice assist order movie tix from Fandango if you don't have the Fandango app installed? Or from AMC directly if I don't have the app loaded with my Stubs #?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 24
    mike1 said:
    "Viv's technology has been touted as better than Siri, for instance being able to mesh multiple services together without a person needing separate apps for each. If a person is ordering movie tickets, it can not only find showtimes but compare ticket prices, place or cancel orders, and suggest pre-show dinner locations."

    Sounds wrong. How can the voice assist order movie tix from Fandango if you don't have the Fandango app installed? Or from AMC directly if I don't have the app loaded with my Stubs #?
    most cinemas have online purchasing direct without the need for an app besides a browser don't they? Why would you need Fandango?
    perkedel
  • Reply 9 of 24
    Just put it next to your ear... it'll sure blow your mind!
    Mal_Rpunkndrubliccaliwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 24
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    If I drop my Samsung phone in a Samsung washing machine... will I live?
    Mal_Rwatto_cobralolliver
  • Reply 11 of 24
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    xzu said:
    "Your Galaxy 8 will self-destruct in 3-2-1."
    Can't wait to see it in the next Mission Impossible movie! 
    caliwatto_cobralolliver
  • Reply 12 of 24
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    blastdoor said:
    In the short term Samsung's competition may not be Apple so much as Google

    Bingo. 

    And in the long term, the more fragmentation of Android, the better for Apple. 

    can not agree more, before you know every company out there will have their own AI assistant that no one will want to talk to.
  • Reply 13 of 24
    qwweraqwwera Posts: 281member
    This is good news. This only helps propel innovative technologies. The more the merrier. Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, IBM, Google, the more the deep pocket players spend, the better and faster the benefit to the consumer. 
  • Reply 14 of 24
    sflocal said:
    Will it include an early-warning explosion-detection system?
    "You now have 15 minutes to reach minimum safe distance..."
    edited November 2016 watto_cobralolliver
  • Reply 15 of 24
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    Good news to Apple.  Another fragmentation to Android platform.  
    caliwatto_cobralolliver
  • Reply 16 of 24
    fallenjtfallenjt Posts: 4,053member
    Will it be included in their washing machines which will replace 2.8 Millions of units recalled last week?
    edited November 2016 watto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 24
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    qwwera said:
    This is good news. This only helps propel innovative technologies. The more the merrier. Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, IBM, Google, the more the deep pocket players spend, the better and faster the benefit to the consumer. 
    Agreed. 

    It's worth pointing out that the rot set into Microsoft once monopolised the desktop market. The company became fat and lazy. When the iPhone landed they thought they would simply because they were Microsoft. 

    Ballmer still can't get over what happened; now he's on Bloomberg, insisting that the only reason he was beaten by Apple was because the iPhone was subsidised by the carriers. 

    http://www.recode.net/2016/11/7/13548032/steve-ballmer-apple-iphone-bloomberg
    edited November 2016 qwwera
  • Reply 18 of 24
    I am so tired of this Viv vaporware being touted everywhere by Samsung. When is the 8 even coming out? Tell everyone how great it is once it actually gets here. 
    watto_cobralolliver
  • Reply 19 of 24
    Apple: "hey guys. Why don't you come to us and we build this cool voice co trolled assistant into our OS"

    SIRI/VIV guys: "yeah, sounds cool"

    Apple: "hey guys, slow down. You know, were fiddling around with sensitive personal data. And we need to scale back and stepwise add features back in when we know how to do it safely"

    SIRI/VIV guys: "yuck. That totally turn us off. You mutilate our cool tech. We're out."

    Samsung: "hey guys. Why don't you come and play with us? We don't care much about all this boring security - with us you can play without any limits. Ain't that cool?"

    SIRI/VIV guys: *drool*. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 24
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Damn! Sorry I'm late! Have all the good 'exploding phone' jokes gone alrea…? Ah. They have :-(

    watto_cobra
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