Samsung
Electronics Co Ltd said on Sunday it would launch an artificial intelligence
digital assistant service for its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone, seeking to
rebound from the Galaxy Note 7's collapse and differentiate its devices.
The world's
top smartphone maker in October announced the acquisition of Viv Labs Inc, a
firm run by a co-creator of Apple Inc's Siri voice assistant program. Samsung
plans to integrate the San Jose-based company's AI platform, called Viv, into
the Galaxy smartphones and expand voice-assistant services to home appliances
and wearable technology devices.
Samsung is
counting on the Galaxy S8 to help revive smartphone momentum after scrapping
the fire-prone Galaxy Note 7, which will hit its profit by $5.4 billion over
three quarters through the first quarter of 2017.
Investors and
analysts say the Galaxy S8 must be a strong device in order for Samsung to win
back customers and revive earnings momentum.
Samsung did
not comment on what types of services would be offered through the AI assistant
that will be launched on the Galaxy S8, which is expected to go on sale early
next year. It said the AI assistant would allow customers to use third-party
service seamlessly.
"Developers
can attach and upload services to our agent," said Samsung Executive Vice
President Rhee Injong during a briefing, referring to its AI assistant.
"Even if
Samsung doesn't do anything on its own, the more services that get attached the
smarter this agent will get, learn more new services and provide them to
end-users with ease."
Technology
firms are locked in an increasingly heated race to make AI good enough to let
consumers interact with their devices more naturally, especially by voice.
Alphabet
Inc's Google is widely considered to be the leader in AI, but others including
Amazon.com, Apple and Microsoft Corp have launched their own offerings
including voice-powered digital assistants.
Samsung also
hopes to differentiate its devices, from phones to fridges, by incorporating
AI. Competition from Google's new Pixel smartphones, armed with the U.S. firm's
voice-powered digital assistant, adds to the urgency.
The South
Korean firm has said it plans more acquisitions to bolster its AI and other software
capabilities.
(Reporting by
Se Young Lee and Nataly Pak; Editing by Andrew Hay and Adrian Croft)
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