If you have any doubts yet that Samsung may be sidelining its own digital assistant Bixby soon, the latest news for their Smart TVs may convince you. Google Assistant, Google’s own digital assistant will now be available for the Korean OEM’s 2020 TV line in the UK, France, Germany, and Italy after it launched in the US just a month ago. It will also be rolling out to 12 more countries before 2020 ends. This means users now have the option to use Amazon’s Alexa, Google Assistant, and Bixby as voice assistants for their smart TVs.
While smart TVs have made our viewing more interesting, it can sometimes be a pain to use the native remote control to type out stuff on your big screen. So having a digital assistant that you can use through voice commands makes it even more convenient. You will be able to control your TV directly through commands like changing channels, adjusting the volume, searching for shows and movies, etc.
If you’ve connected some of your smart home devices to your Google Assistant, then you’ll also be able to control them through your Samsung TV. You can create a hub where your smart lights, thermostats, and other devices can be found. You can also ask it to do other things for you like give you a weather update, play music from your default or specific music streaming service. You can also connect it with other Google services like Search, Photos, Maps, Calendar, etc.
This isn’t actually the first time that Google Assistant has been integrated to Samsung Smart TVs. But previously, you needed to use a separate device that supports Google Assistant like a smart speaker. Now you can already activate it directly on your smart TV by holding down the mic button on the remote. And now, there are more choices in using digital assistants if you prefer Bixby or Alexa rather than Google’s own.
Rumors have been around the past few months that Google is “convincing” Samsung to just ditch Bixby and use Google Assistant for their various devices. No official word from either companies of course but sometimes actions speak louder than words right? Google Assistant on Samsung TVs will also be rolling out to Spain, Brazil, India, and South Korea by the end of November.