Is Bixby really that bad?

[donm527]

For the handful of times I tried Bixby when I first got the phone, it worked just fine and don't recall it failing on me.

But I hate the Bixby button and the location, for me, I was always hitting it... the moment the update came in to disable it... I disabled it and haven't used Bixby since.

I still find myself hitting the Bixby button but I no longer have to worry about it disabled... just reminds me what a waste of a button now when i hit it... But I think the button was irritating enough that I don't care to spend any more time on it.

Google Assistant does everything I need and does it well.

 

[Doug Moffat]

Bravo to those who use Bixby successfully. I don't challenge your experience.

For me it's a no go. My profession requires that I speak English in an articulate fashion so that a reporter can take it down. Half the time Bixby doesn't understand what I say. When it does respond its usually something irrelevant that flashes on the screen for a millisecond. YMMV.

 

[edubb256]

It's an AI product so it will definitely improve, but as for being a great product: it already is. But what it's great at and what people think it is are entirely separate. That's the problem.

I'm glad that you think is it great. Hopefully people who like it will use it a lot and Samsung will use the data to figure out a way to improve it so people like me, who don't find it useful now, will find it useful at some point in the future.

 

[AnotherInternetGuy]

I'm glad that you think is it great. Hopefully people who like it will use it a lot and Samsung will use the data to figure out a way to improve it so people like me, who don't find it useful now, will find it useful at some point in the future.

Like i said- it's currently limited to the imagination of the user. It certainly doesn't "just work". And in its current state, admittedly, the only people likely to really utillise it to its fullest are enthusiasts with a pre-disposition for exploring and tinkering. Which largely makes it usesless.

But the fact remains: its an extremely powerful tool bringing something unprecedented to the table. Full voice control. The idea behind it is different to siri and google assistant despite it looking the same.

It's not aiming to make your life easier, it's aiming to make navigating your phone easier. Sounds dumb to us, but when the goal is to convert iPhone users... Unfamiliar menus are a bigger obstacle than you realise. If you can't beat Apple's menus, make them obsolete.

Despite the poor ease of use, i guarantee you, once google or apple figure out how to implement this approach with more simplicity, this way of doing things WILL remove menus from the user experience entirely.

Bixby is proof of concept: it's possible to use a phone fully without ever accessing a single menu. The potential is simply too great for this not to become an inevitible norm for all electronics. Wait and see.

 

[AnotherInternetGuy]

I'm glad that you think is it great. Hopefully people who like it will use it a lot and Samsung will use the data to figure out a way to improve it so people like me, who don't find it useful now, will find it useful at some point in the future.

Like i said- it's currently limited to the imagination of the user. It certainly doesn't "just work". And in its current state, admittedly, the only people likely to really utillise it to its fullest are enthusiasts with a pre-disposition for exploring and tinkering. Which largely makes it usesless.

But the fact remains: its an extremely powerful tool bringing something unprecedented to the table. Full voice control. The idea behind it is different to siri and google assistant despite it looking the same.

It's not aiming to make your life easier, it's aiming to make navigating your phone easier. Sounds dumb to us, but when the goal is to convert iPhone users... Unfamiliar menus are a bigger obstacle than you realise. If you can't beat Apple's menus, make them obsolete.

Despite the poor ease of use, i guarantee you, once google or apple figure out how to implement this approach with more simplicity, this way of doing things WILL remove menus from the user experience entirely.

Bixby is proof of concept: it's possible to use a phone fully without ever accessing a single menu. The potential is simply too great for this not to become an inevitible norm for all electronics. Wait and see.

 

[AnotherInternetGuy]

But just to clarify, the specific aspect that makes bixby so powerful is the freedom to program complex chain commands and assign a code word to initiate it.

For example, i say "clean up" and bixby clears my notifications, closes background apps not in use, clears temp data and performs all device maintenance tasks and returns to my home screen.

Is it instant? No. Was it easy to teach it how? Not really. But is it convenient? Absolutely. I'm too lazy to spend half a minute doing all that!

I'm never going to say "hey bixby" to iniatiate Bixby: I dont actually like talking to objects. So the bixby button is actually ideal for the function: only takes a single word to get any administration task done, works like a Walkie Talkie, and there's no accidentaly triggers because pressing tye bixby button does nothing.

A youtuber called sakitech changed my perspective on the matter.

Anyway, i'll stop preaching now.

 

[AnotherInternetGuy]

But just to clarify, the specific aspect that makes bixby so powerful is the freedom to program complex chain commands and assign a code word to initiate it.

For example, i say "clean up" and bixby clears my notifications, closes background apps not in use, clears temp data and performs all device maintenance tasks and returns to my home screen.

Is it instant? No. Was it easy to teach it how? Not really. But is it convenient? Absolutely. I'm too lazy to spend half a minute doing all that!

I'm never going to say "hey bixby" to iniatiate Bixby: I dont actually like talking to objects. So the bixby button is actually ideal for the function: only takes a single word to get any administration task done, works like a Walkie Talkie, and there's no accidentaly triggers because pressing tye bixby button does nothing.

A youtuber called sakitech changed my perspective on the matter.

Anyway, i'll stop preaching now.

 

[stewarta13wsb]

No you have to still tap power off to confirm

 

[Deke218]

Bixby saves you money. Kids R Us and Toys R Us price match. I was in Kids R Us yesterday and scanned a couple of items using Bixby. Saved almost 20 bucks on two items. I like saving.

 

[Methos1979]

But just to clarify, the specific aspect that makes bixby so powerful is the freedom to program complex chain commands and assign a code word to initiate it.

For example, i say "clean up" and bixby clears my notifications, closes background apps not in use, clears temp data and performs all device maintenance tasks and returns to my home screen.

Is it instant? No. Was it easy to teach it how? Not really. But is it convenient? Absolutely. I'm too lazy to spend half a minute doing all that!

I'm never going to say "hey bixby" to iniatiate Bixby: I dont actually like talking to objects. So the bixby button is actually ideal for the function: only takes a single word to get any administration task done, works like a Walkie Talkie, and there's no accidentaly triggers because pressing tye bixby button does nothing.

A youtuber called sakitech changed my perspective on the matter.

Anyway, i'll stop preaching now.

Lol. Bixby is for clueless, tech-challenged people that can't operate their phone. Like this guy. Maybe he could try something like, "Hi Bixby - post this reply but just do it once, please, not twice..."

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[anon(10329701)]

No you have to still tap power off to confirm

You don't have to tap power off, you can just say power off again and it will shut down. It gives you the choice to tap power off or say it again to complete the shut down.

 

[andytiedye]

Bixby is the only macro processor we get, unless we root.
Would be nice to be able to have icons for our custom commands so we can execute them silently.
Voice control totally rocks when driving. Keep your eyes on the road.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

TBH, I don't use Bixby very often.

Reason? It doesn't get what I say very often. Perhaps this is one of those things that it has to learn from me.

 

[DMarie04]

Just bought Note 8s for me and my wife and they will be here tomorrow. We both have S7 edges and both use (me more than her) google assistant quite frequently.

Is bixby that bad? Can I turn off bixby and run google assistant? Can you remap the bixby button to go to google assistant? Will google assistant open from the lock screen or the always on display screen unlike the S7?

Thanks.

There's a Bixby post in the N8 forums, you should check it out. I was a really Big skeptic, but I actually use Bixby daily now for certain things. Best advice I can give is, while they're both assistants, their strengths are Very different. Googles great for web, weather, maps etc. (While Bixby can do some of those), Bixbys strength is in its ability to control your phones functions & settings. And it works Great for that! When I grab my phone in the morning & say "good morning Bixby" it automatically turns on my location, adjusts the screen timeout & brightness, turns on my Bluetooth & turns off my do not disturb- and much faster then if I did it manually! I have setup similarly for shutting my device down @ night as well. You can create your own commands with multiple functions. It really can be the best of both worlds once you know which assistant to use depending on the task.

I believe now you can turn BIXBY off if it's just not for you but I'd give it a "fair share" before you did. For Google, you can assign a function to your home button which works great for Google.
This phone it's freakin fantastic, you & your wife are going love it...I'd be shocked if you didn't!

 

[AnotherInternetGuy]

Well I won't thank you for the condescension or personal insults that you''ve thinly veiled in humour. It's comments like this that put people off trying to to have friendly discussion.

I was trying to make a positive contribution to the topic but yeah, i'm experiencing a technical problem and my browser is submitting my posts twice. Literally only happens on this site...

 

[KANO GIOVANNI]

BIXBY IS BY FAR THE MOST STUPIDEST SMART PHONE ASSISTANT I'VE EVER SEEN!

 

[j_hansen]

So you signed up to tell us that you don't know how to use bixby

 

[Mr-Guy]

Bixby is great for hardware manipulation, like closing apps or telling it to send such and such a text message. it isn't good at looking things up...I love it though. it can be setup to use macros too!

 

[bassplayrguy]

Bixby is actually very helpful. I use it everyday. Quick commands are amazing.

 

[anon(5719825)]

I've never used Bixby and have had it disabled from day one on my Note 8 and S9+. When I owned a S8+, it was also disabled on it and it was the first phone to have it.