Samsung Bixby 3.0 voice assistant has been launched in India with various India-specific features and introduction of “English (India)” language capability. This essentially means that Bixby will now be able to understand Indian names, places, relationships, contents, and recipes, among other things. The virtual assistant now also allows users to set relationships and their names. Bixby with “English (India)” is currently available on Samsung Galaxy S21, Galaxy A52, and Galaxy A72. Samsung says that it will soon introduce it on more devices. Those who are already using Bixby should get a message for an update via the Bixby app.
As per a blog post on Samsung community forum, the new Bixby 3.0 can assist users in starting “yoga timer, check weather for the day in their city, call Maa or Bhaiya on the way to work, sharpen culinary skills with the recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala”. If you have an eligible device, and are new to Bixby, you can choose “English (India)” when signing in to Bixby. If you are a Bixby user, you should get an update notification. Click on it and choose “English (India)” to get the latest India-centric features.
While most of the things can be done by simply asking Bixby, in order to use numbers with relationships, users first have to set them up. Users can click on the profile image of a contact at the top of the screen, and choose Relationships. Once done, users can select the relationship, choose the number of the person and save it. The other way to set a relationship is by saying any Indian relationship name, and Bixby will assist you in linking names to specific contacts.
Samsung also hinted that it will add more India-specific features in the future. As mentioned, the virtual assistant is available on select smartphones, and will be available on more models later.
Is OnePlus 9R old wine in a new bottle — or something more? We discussed this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Later (starting at 23:00), we talk about the new OnePlus Watch. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.
