With just days to go before the Galaxy S8 hits store shelves and consumers’ hands, Samsung has revealed that one of the flagship’s main features won’t be ready in time for that launch.
Samsung says that Bixby Voice will not ship with the Galaxy S8 when it launches in the US on April 21. Instead, the feature will become available “later this spring.” That means that you’ll be unable to control features of select GS8 apps using Bixby Voice right away.
Samsung did confirm that Bixby Vision will work at launch, which means that you’ll be able to use the GS8’s camera to identify objects. Bixby Home (shown above) and Bixby Reminders will also be available on the Galaxy S8 at launch.
Bixby Voice and its ability to let control your phone using just your voice was one of the headlining features of Samsung’s Galaxy S8 announcement. The news that it won’t be ready in time for the GS8’s launch is a big deal, as it means that all of those customers buying a GS8 out of the gate won’t get to play with Bixby Voice and get accustomed to it, which could hurt their odds of ever using it regularly.
Samsung does say that Bixby will arrive later in the spring, which suggests that it’ll arrive before mid-June or so. Hopefully it’ll be much sooner than that, though.
