Kuala Lumpur, 21 December 2017 – Samsung Malaysia Electronics has announced that Bixby’s voice capabilities are now available in Mandarin Chinese. This gives existing Malaysian users of the Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note8 devices an additional option to experience Samsung’s intelligent interface in their own comfortable language.

KM Liew, Head of Samsung Malaysia Electronics’ IT & Mobile division, said that Samsung’s move to introduce the new language within Bixby is due to strong interests from the large Mandarin Chinese-speaking community in Malaysia.

“We at Samsung believe this is a significant step forward in allowing our consumers do and achieve things in a more comfortable and convenient way, as Mandarin is the mother tongue and first language of many Malaysians. We are confident that now, many more users of these devices will be able to fully experience Bixby as it was meant to be experienced,” said Mr Liew.

Prior to this, other language options that were supported by Bixby were US English and Korean. The introduction of Bixby in Mandarin Chinese will allow Malaysian consumers more flexibility, contextual awareness and cognitive tolerance in interacting with their Samsung devices for a superior and seamless experience. For example, users can say “dă kāi xiàng jī (打开相机)” and Bixby will do the honours of opening up the camera app.

With the introduction of its new language capability, Mandarin Chinese will now be integrated into Bixby Home, Reminder and Vision, as well as selected native apps by Samsung, Bixby Lab and other third parties. Via Mandarin Chinese, existing Malaysian users will be able to smoothly switch from voice command, to touch, to text, and back to voice in their own comfortable language.

As Samsung is constantly looking to meet industry demands, Bixby will be continually improved with updates and added features, according to consolidated feedback from the Samsung consumer community. Not only that, its natural language-understanding ability allows Bixby to continuously improve its interpretations of regional dialects, giving users the option to interact with Bixby in even more Chinese dialects in time.

Bixby’s availability on the Galaxy S8, S8+ and Note8 is just the beginning. As the Bixby ecosystem grows, it will connect across devices, apps and services as an intelligent interface, and open up new experiences and scenarios to ensure convenience.

For more information, visit http://www.samsung.com/my/apps/bixby/.

Bixby’s advanced voice capabilities¹ allow you to effortlessly manage your phone and your connected life using simple, natural commands. The voice support is fully integrated into your phone’s native apps, settings, and a growing list of third-party apps, placing your phone’s most convenient and powerful features at your beck and call. So whether you’d like help taking a selfie, organizing photos from your last vacation, tracking down a particular setting, or keeping your friends updated on social media, simply tell Bixby what you need and it will work with you to get things done faster and easier.

Here are just a few examples of how Bixby’s voice support can help you get more done in your day.

Snap a Selfie with Bixby and Share It with Your Friends and Followers

Bixby is an expert multitasker, capable of seamlessly navigating your phone’s menus and apps.

Bixby is built right into your phone’s camera, allowing you to take full advantage of your camera’s advanced features with simple spoken requests, and creating an easy way to share snapshots of your day.

For instance, you can tell Bixby to “Take a selfie” and use Bixby to edit and enhance your image and share it with friends on social media.

Simplify Your Bixby Conversations with Quick Commands

You don’t need to be formal or oversimplify requests when talking to Bixby. The interface’s understanding of natural language allows you to speak to your phone as you would a friend.

Bixby’s Quick Commands make interacting with the interface even more effortless by allowing you to replace long or complex requests with convenient keywords. For example, you can substitute a common command, such as “Turn my alarm on for 6:00 a.m.,” with a short and simple alternative, such as “Set alarm.”

To add a Quick Command, head to Bixby Home’s “My Bixby” menu.

Manage Apps and Settings with Ease

Bixby’s voice capability allows you to navigate your phone and go-to apps hands-free, without sacrificing access to settings or functions. Rather than manually searching for a particular feature, you can use Bixby to bypass menus and instantly locate the function you need.

Voice support is particularly useful when attempting to access functions that are buried beneath multiple menu screens. For example, with voice support, if you were to look up a recipe on your phone, you could ask Bixby to “Set screen timeout to 10 minutes” so you could roll up your sleeves and focus on cooking without needing to constantly wake up your device.

Bixby’s always there to help. Simply saying the word will allow you to streamline everyday tasks, including everything from clearing notifications and changing a wallpaper or ringtone, to activating commonly used features such as “Do not disturb” mode.

Enjoy a Smarter Driving Experience

Bixby’s ability to respond to voice commands also makes it a terrific co-pilot for road trips and daily commutes, allowing you to easily access key apps and functions while keeping your eyes on the road.

When you’re behind the wheel and you make a request, Bixby will ask you to unlock your phone with a custom voice password² in order to carry out your command.

To set your unique voice password, simply locate the function under Bixby’s settings and follow the on-screen instructions. After you select a secure word or phrase, Bixby will ask you to read out a few sample sentences in order to get to know your distinct voice. Once finished, the next time you activate Bixby, you’ll be able to unlock your device using your chosen word or phrase.

When you need a little help getting where you’re going, ask Bixby to pull up your destination in your favorite navigation app. The interface’s voice support and app integration make it easy to find the fastest route to wherever you’re headed.

Bixby’s voice support allows drivers to handle complicated tasks hands-free, and even makes it possible to read and dictate responses to texts with messaging apps.

This is just a sample of some of the everyday tasks that Bixby was designed to streamline. To learn more about how to use Bixby’s voice capabilities to simplify daily life, check out Samsung’s comprehensive list of tips and tricks, located under “Tutorials” in Bixby Home.

¹Language support is currently limited to Korean and U.S. English, and the user’s device must be Bixby-compatible. App and service compatibility may vary by region.

²This specific function must be activated before use.