After failed attempts to lock owners of the Galaxy S8, S9, Note 8 and Note 9 to Bixby digital assistant, Samsung finally caved in to the desires of many fans, opening up the dedicated Bixby button on the Galaxy S10 to remapping.
The company went on to confirm that this ability will be added to older phones that have this dedicated button through a software update. When exactly the update will arrive remains unknown, but the fact that it is happening speaks volumes about what Samsung thinks about its digital assistant. This move, basically, opens up the button to be used to launch other apps like, well, the Google Assistant.
At a time when Bixby is struggling, it appears that Google Assistant is on a winning streak. At the ongoing MWC 2019 show, the company has announced that the digital assistant will get a dedicated button on over 100 million Android phones.
This should give Android owners who are not so familiar with the software-based version of the Assistant another option to launch it. While some might relish it, others may not, especially if these buttons cannot be remapped.
If you are a fan of Nokia, LG, Xiaomi, Vivo or even TCL phones, you might soon own one with a dedicated Google Assistant button. In fact, some companies have already unveiled a few phones with this button, among them LG G8, LG K40, LG K50, LG Q60, Nokia 3.2, Nokia 4.2, Xiaomi MI MIX 3 5G, Xiaomi Mi 9, and Vivo V15 Pro.
With the MWC still ongoing, we expect to see more devices with a dedicated button by the end of this week.
For those not sure how this button works, well, press it once and the Assistant will be ready for you. Hit it twice and a visual snapshot shows up with information based on the time of the day, recent activities and location. When you long-press the button, Google says a walkie-talkie feature will be activated to ensure the assistant hears your entire commands and questions.
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