Samsung's Next Galaxy Phone Could Have Siri-Like Smarts

Samsung Electronics this week revealed plans to unveil its flagship Galaxy S8 mobile phone with a new digital assistant powered by AI. The assistant will be based on technology gained with Samsung's recent acquisition of Viv Labs.

The plans call for Samsung to incorporate the AI into its family of electronics and appliances, ranging from mobile devices to wearable technology and home devices. Rhee Injong, CTO of Samsung's mobile communications business, was one of several executives who briefed Reuters on the plans.
Samsung may delay the introduction of the new phone past the Mobile World Congress in February, pushing the launch to as late as April, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company may add a button on the side of the S8 to launch the AI capabilities, similar to the buttons for launching Siri on Apple devices.
"Samsung is excited to begin integrating initial AI capabilities into its future products and we look forward to sharing further details at a later date," a spokesperson said in a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by company rep Ashley Wimberly.

Smart Enough?

In the aftermath of the Galaxy Note7 debacle, there is skepticism that Samsung's revelations concerning plans for a digital assistant amount to much more than face-saving hype.
"Personally, I'm a little wary about Samsung's ability to compete in this space," said Jitesh Ubrani, a senior research analyst at IDC.
"Without search and large amounts of user data, it will be quite difficult for Samsung to differentiate their AI from others," he told TechNewsWorld.
Amazon, Google, Microsoft and others have years of consumer data to build on artificial intelligence platforms that rely on learned user preferences to work in an optimal way, Ubrani noted. Their existing AI technologies include Amazon's Alexa, Google's Assistant and Microsoft's Cortana.
The proof will be in the pudding as to whether Samsung truly can assemble a new AI digital assistant that can compete, said industry analyst Jeff Kagan.
"There are many different versions of AI," he told TechNewsWorld. "Some are really advanced and interesting and real. Others are just there to let a company use the term to gain media attention.
"The real question is which is Samsung's AI?" Kagan asked.
Although Viv Labs is a startup, it is not a babe in the woods when it comes to AI systems. Its founders are Siri developer Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham. The open AI technology they developed for Viv Labs is designed to allow third-party developers to integrate digital assistants using natural language into their apps.
Viv Labs will coordinate closely with Samsung but continue to operate essentially as an independent company.