Samsung Galaxy S8 AI assistant may be called 'Bixby'

Samsung has filed for a trademark in South Korea seeking exclusivity for the word 'Bixby' which it says will be used for operating voice recognition system across digital platforms. The filing has led speculations that the name could be that of the company's planned AI assistant which it is rumoured to unveil on board the Galaxy S8 in 2017.

The trademark filing reported by the Galaxy Club details what it will be used for saying, "the brand name will be used for computer software for personal information management or computer application software for smartphones, mobile telephones, portable computers and tablet computers Namely, software used to operate voice recognition system and computer software for enabling hands-free use of a mobile phone through voice recognition."

Last week Samsung's mobile communication vice president Lee Kyeong-tae discussed certain features that could be expected from the Galaxy S8 that included artificial intelligence. The timing of filing the trademark has now led to speculations that the voice assistant is the same that is being built for the S8 which later is expected to be available on other Samsung devices as well.

It is still not clear though whether Viv Labs, the artificial intelligence start-up founded by the people that created Siri and was acquired by Samsung will create this voice recognition system. Kyeong-tae refused to comment on the matter as well. The AI assistant is slated to take on the likes of Apple's Siri and Google Assistant.

Apart from an AI assistant the Galaxy S8 is also expected to feature an improved camera, processor and a slick design differentiating from its predecessors. Some rumours in the past have claimed the phone may even feature a 4K display. The Galaxy S8 is expected to be unveiled in February next year most likely at the MWC 2017.