Bixby Home on a Samsung phone

By: Emmanuel

What is Bixby Home on your phone?

Bixby Home is where you can keep track of all of your Bixby actions. This includes things like recently used apps, tasks, and device settings. Bixby can also be controlled with voice commands. Bixby was launched as a separate pre-installed app from the usual S Voice app on Samsung devices.

Bixby can also show you what’s trending, what apps are being used the most, and which tasks are completed most often, and let you run quick commands by tapping on the Bixby voice widget at the bottom. It also shows you the “reminder cards” that allow you to set alarms for reminders.

It can be useful for several tasks, like opening apps, initiating a search, and more. You can launch the assistant by swiping left on your home screen or long-pressing the dedicated hardware button on Samsung devices with a physical button.

When Bixby is enabled, you’ll find a small white circle with a colored dot inside it on the left side of your home screen (at least this is where it is on an S8). You can tap that icon anytime or swipe right from the edge of the display to open Bixby Home.

To use Bixby, you’ll need a Samsung Account login and access to the internet (either via Wi-Fi or a data connection).

What does Bixby stand for?

Bixby stands for Built-in Extraordinary Intelligent Virtual Assistant. The same team at Samsung coined the word that brought you Viv, an AI assistant powered by a natural language understanding engine. Samsung acquired Viv in 2016 and became part of the Bixby voice launch team.

Bixby was launched as a separate app from S Voice, a pre-installed app on some Samsung devices.

How to open and use Bixby Home

Bixby Home is located in the Bixby app. Once you have opened the Bixby app, you will see a list of options at the bottom. You will want to tap on “Bixby Home” to open up the Bixby home screen.

From there, you can control Bixby with voice commands or by tapping on the widgets you see on the page. You can manage your reminders in Bixby Home as well.

Hi Bixby (Bixby voice assistant)

Bixby Voice is the voice recognition aspect of the Bixby AI. It allows you to control your device with voice commands and serves as a voice assistant. Bixby Voice is activated from inside the Bixby app or by pressing the relevant hardware button on Samsung devices.

To start using Bixby Voice, you must tap on Bixby Voice. You will then be prompted to enable “Hi Bixby.”

Once you have enabled the voice prompt, you can start giving voice commands.

Some common things you can do with Bixby Voice include opening apps, initiating a search, and more. Bixby will also let you know when apps are updated or available for download.

You can control your phone with voice commands like “Open Chrome.” You can also ask Bixby to perform tasks like setting an alarm, taking a note, sending a text message, and more.

Here are some examples of commands you can give to Bixby:

“Open Facebook.”
“Turn up the volume.”
“Text my wife that I am running late.”
“Alarm for 6 am tomorrow.”

The key with Bixby is to be succinct when giving commands. Tell it exactly what you want it to do with as few words as possible.

For example, “Turn up the volume” is more effective than “Please turn up the volume.”

Hi, Galaxy

“Hi, Galaxy” is the voice activation phrase for Samsung S voice and an eventual step into Bixby AI. “Hi, Galaxy” is a Samsung smart assistant that has been on the market for some time. It is often confused with Bixby, which is a completely different application. “Hi Galaxy” is just a half-baked voice activation of S Voice from Samsung’s past, and it cannot be disabled by the user and has limited functionality to its full potential if you ask me.

The phrases used for this app are “Hi, Galaxy,” “Open Hi Galaxy,” or simply “Hey, Galaxy.”

“Hi, Galaxy” is compatible with Samsung devices activated with Bixby’s voice. I have not heard of any Bixby-enabled devices being affected by this, but it’s likely in the terms & conditions for Samsung devices in general.

“Hi, Galaxy” with S voice comes pre-installed on most older Samsung smartphones and tablets, but it was also downloaded from the Google Play Store or sideloaded onto non-Samsung Android smartphones/tablets. It was a feature of S Voice, which has been removed from the Play Store after the development of Bixby.

Bixby Vision

Bixby Vision is a visual search feature of the Bixby AI. It allows users to identify objects in photos and query results online. For example, if you take a book picture, Bixby Vision can provide information about the book, such as the author, release date, and ratings.

Bixby Vision is available on Samsung devices with Bixby enabled. To use Bixby Vision, open the camera app and tap the Vision icon. You can also use Bixby Vision from the Gallery app. Tap the three-dot menu button in the upper-right corner of a photo and select Bixby Vision. It works just like Google Lens.

If you don’t see the Vision icon on your Samsung phone, then Bixby Vision is not available for that device. You can only use the feature if you have a device with Bixby.

Why you should have a Samsung phone with the pre-installed Bixby AI

Bixby and its dedicated button are preinstalled on newer Samsung devices. Some of these devices include the Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 8, and the Samsung Galaxy S9. There are several reasons why you should consider getting a Samsung phone with Bixby, such as:

Getting an assistant with a physical hardware button. On other flagship devices, you need to summon your digital assistant by squeezing the device tightly or placing your finger on the home button for it to work. With Bixby Home, there’s no need for that since all you have to do is press the Bixby key.
It has better natural language processing than its competitors out there. When using Google Assistant or Alexa, you always have to enunciate properly for them to clearly understand what you are saying. This is because these virtual assistants cannot understand casual speech patterns. This makes it very inconvenient when asking questions naturally in front of others who don’t want silence while waiting for your device to respond. With Bixby, you can ask it naturally to do all kinds of things in everyday language.
It has better functionalities for Samsung devices. For instance, when taking a picture or video, you can say “Make this my wallpaper” or “Save this photo to my gallery” through Bixby Home without having to use the separate Bixby Vision app. This is convenient because there’s just one less app that you have to open whenever you want to use these features.
It’s more accurate. This is mainly because Bixby is not only powered by AI but also by the 10,000+ data points that are collected from users worldwide. Due to this, Bixby learns new things all the time and provides more accurate results.
In addition, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus come equipped with improved noise reduction technology that allows it to enhance any recording made with its microphone in loud environments such as a concert or a sports event so that Bixby can hear commands accurately.

How is Bixby different from other AI assistants?

Bixby is different from other AI assistants because:

It is not just a voice assistant.
It has a physical home on your phone.
It is integrated into your apps and devices, such as cameras and phones.
It has a feature called Bixby Vision.
It can be controlled by touch and gestures.
It uses sensors like the accelerometer to understand your behavior and activity context.
It is capable of learning new skills through machine learning.
It has dedicated buttons for quick access.
It can change how you use your phone by transforming how apps work on Samsung devices.

Frequently Asked Questions About Bixby Home

Q. What is the Bixby button on my phone for?

A. The Bixby button on your phone can be used to quickly access Bixby Home and its other functions without having to use the touchscreen interface. To activate this feature, go to Settings > Advanced features > and set the Bixby button to On. You should also choose what you want the keypress to activate while in this menu.

The available options are:

Open Bixby Home.
Open voice recognition.
Take screenshot.
Turn off the phone.

Q. How do I get started with using Bixby?

A. You can start using Bixby by pressing the Bixby key located on your phone’s side button. Doing this will bring you to Bixby’s home screen, where you’ll find several available features for you. You can also activate it by saying, “Hi, Bixby.”

Q. Can I delete Bixby Home?

A. In reality, you cannot completely uninstall or remove Bixby, but you can disable it. If you want to disable Bixby Home, go to Settings > Apps, tap the three dots in the top right corner, choose “Show system apps,” then “Find all Samsung apps,” select Bixby Home, and tap “Disable.” After that, restart your phone for the changes to take effect.

Q. How do I disable/turn off the pop-up notifications that ask me if I want to use Bixby?

A. If you have turned on this feature by accident or are just not interested in seeing these notifications, you must go to Settings > Advanced Features > turn it off from here.

Q. How do I access Bixby Vision when taking a picture?

A. You can access Bixby Vision when using the camera app on your phone. Simply swipe up or down on the screen to switch between modes, then select Bixby Vision when it pops up.

Q. What is Bixby Voice?

A. Bixby voice is a feature that lets you activate Bixby hands-free. Simply say the phrase “Hi, Bixby” to start using it. You can now search for items, ask questions by voice, and get answers through your phone’s speakers and Bluetooth.

While Google Assistant can answer questions like “How far away is the moon?” and Apple’s Siri will tell you how much time it takes for an egg to hard-boil. For Samsung’s Bixby, when you ask it something like “Who sings this song?”, instead of showing you search results that contain the song you mentioned, Bixby will play that specific track from streaming services such as Spotify or SoundCloud.

Q. What is Bixby Global Action?

A. Bixby Global Action is a new way for you to use Bixby — it lets you do everyday things with just one command, no matter where or what app you’re in. For example, if you want to order a ride, simply say, “Hi, Bixby. Get me an Uber.” If you want to find out what movies are playing at the mall, say, “Hi, Bixby. Show me the showtimes for The Commuter.” You can even ask for a barcode by saying, “Hi, Bixby. Show me the price for this product.”

Q. How do I enable Bixby Home?

A: Swipe to your left home screen and tap on the icon that looks like a house (Bixby Home). Then, simply follow the instructions and set it up accordingly. Go to the Apps list and select Settings > Advanced Features > Turn off or uninstall Bixby Home if you want to disable or uninstall it.

Wrap up

Bixby is a voice and virtual assistant that comes pre-installed on newer Samsung devices, including the Galaxy S8, Note 8, and Galaxy S9. Bixby Home is an app where you can manage all of your Bixby activities from one place.

The main difference between Bixby and other AI assistants like Google Assistant or Siri is its integration with apps and features in everyday life, such as taking pictures or recording videos. There’s also no need to use another separate app when using many of these functions because they’re available through Bixby home instead.

Bixby uses machine learning to learn new skills and enhance its current capabilities. Besides that, Bixby is unique because it has dedicated buttons, so you don’t have to summon the virtual assistant every single time; plus, it’s more accurate than other assistants due to its 10,000+ data points collected from users worldwide.

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed the article.

For more featured articles like this, click on our home page.