XDA may have come up with a way of customising the Galaxy S8’s Bixby button, but Samsung is not having any of it. A new firmware update prevents the button’s command from being intercepted; leaving the button solely for Samsung’s AI assistant.
This change doesn’t quite affect consumers, seeing that the Galaxy S8 is not yet available. However, it shows Samsung’s commitment to getting people to adopt Bixby. Possibly at the expense of customisation. Doubly so, since there is no way of actually turning Bixby off on the flagship device.
Samsung’s insistence on locking the button to a single function is rather curious. Especially since the company admits that the English speaking version of the AI will not be available when the Galaxy S8 ships. In fact, there’s no specific date for when it will be ready for use. At least nothing beyond a vague “late spring” time frame.
