Some things you can do with Bixby (even if you most probably don't have it yet)

Bixby could, like any other AI assistant, make digital life simpler for you.

Let's get this out of the way first: Bixby, Samsung's answer to Apple's Siri, Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa, is only officially available in two countries - its home turf in South Korea and the United States, with the latter had to wait for a month before they got the update that added voice-recognition capabilities (in English). Also, we're hearing that it might actually get a global voice - when and where are quite a mystery, though.
For now, we'll clue you in or refresh you with what Bixby has to offer. And we don't need to mention it's basically just like its AI peers. Consider this a 'pre-usage' guide, so you'd be a Bixby expert (hopefully) if and when it does come to your Samsung device.
 
Tell Bixby to take your selfie and share it: Well, this is as simple as it can get: tell Bixby to 'take a selfie', and you're good to go. Meaning, you can also ask it for stuff like opening the last shot you took, adjusting, rotating or adding filters to it, or shove it up your social media account for everyone to see.

 
Simplify conversations: AI should be simple enough (even though some display the "intelligence of an ostrich"), but Bixby will allow you to make things even easier. With Quick Commands you can replace long requests with a couple of words or so. For example, instead of saying "set my alarm for 9:01am so that I have more time to toss and turn in bed before I finally decide to get up at around 11am", you can simply input "set alarm".

 
Easily manage apps and settings: Well, this is simple enough: use Bixby to bypass menus and go directly to what app or setting you need, all while also freeing up your hands. (I have an early favourite now: "clear all notifications".)

 
Drive smarter: Need a co-pilot or navigator on the road? While you're driving and you need something from Bixby, it'll ask for a custom voice password before it starts accepting your commands - nice in the sense that it's secure and that no one else can activate it but you (though if you're in a hurry that's one extra step):

 
Once that's set up and done, you can seek help for directions to where you're going.

 
And for good measure, Bixby will do things for you that you'd otherwise do with your hands and fingers - including reading out messages for you and sending replies.

 
And if you want to learn more, head over to 'Tutorials' in the Bixby Home app.

 
Soon, hopefully. Soon.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com