Google Could Make ThingsDifficult For Samsung's Siri Challenger, Bixby

Samsung could start a new chapter when it unveils its long-awaited Galaxy S8 on March 29, putting the disaster of the Note 7 behind it and showing that it can take a big step forward with innovative features. It's a digital assistant you'll be able activate by pressing a dedicated button on the side of the S8, and it has an impressive pedigree. The feature descends from Viv, the A.I. startup that Samsung bought in October 2016 and which claimed to be a more extensive and powerful alternative to Siri, which its creators also built. Apple bought Siri in 2010, and its co-founders Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham left the company in 2012 to build a better version of Siri that could connect to other services on a phone, and not just refer queries that it didn't understand to the Web. That's what Samsung is now promising Bixby will be able to do, claiming it will be better than other digital assistants like Siri or Google Assistant because of how it can link more deeply with apps on your phone.