Will Google And Samsung Take On AI Together?

With Amazon’s Alexa out ahead of the rest of the AI field, reports indicate that some of the competitor brands are contemplating joining forces to take on the task.

Samsung, in its quarterly earnings call, indicated that it is working with its partner/rival Google to make a better-working AI on a wider range of devices.

“Samsung and Google will have to continue to maintain their strategic partnership to nurture the AI and the market for the emerging technology,” Samsung Mobile VP Lee Kyeong-tae said, as reported by The Investor, a South Korean publication associated with The Korea Herald.

The new pair-up comes as the Samsung personal assistant — possibly named Bixby — is being speculated about as the next big addition to the Galaxy S8 smartphone.  AI is increasingly becoming the next big thing in mobile technology — though Apple’s Siri has been around for a long time, this year will see phone makers from Huawei to HTC introducing their own variations on the smart assistant theme. Google also has its assistant for the Pixel phones.

As for where Bixby fits in — that is still mostly speculation.  The personal assistant will likely move across the range of Samsung products including phones, TVs, tablets and laptops.  There are also some theories that Samsung will take a page from Amazon’s book and open Bixby up to third party developers much the way Alexa is.