Jan 31, 2017 06:55 AM EST By Dan Camins, UniversityHerald Reporter

Samsung first introduced Bixby at TechCrunch Disrupt in November 2016. This was after the company bought Viv Labs, where Apple's Siri was created.

The acquisition of Viv Labs ran by Dag Kittlaus, Siri's co-creator has placed Samsung in a position to compete with Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft's Cortana, and the current leader, Amazon's Alexa. Reuters reported in November that Samsung planned to integrate the new AI platform into all of its Galaxy line of smartphones, as well as their coming Galaxy S8 flagships.

Bixby expanded use

Further reports indicated that Samsung also plans to expand and incorporate Bixby into its line of smart appliances and wearable devices. The plan, according to Pocket-lint, is to help restore the companies lost momentum arising from last year's disastrous Galaxy Note 7 debacle. Bixby will ultimately replace the company's current assistant, S voice.

Bixby will come with the Samsung Galaxy S8, or do you prefer Kestra

Bixby will be a major feature of the coming Samsung Galaxy S8, as confirmed thru Tweet. There are reports that there might be two versions of the same technology. The other iteration is called Kestra. Bixby and Kestra might be iterations of the same AI only they will be using male and female voices respectively. It can be assumed the Galaxy S8 might come with both.

Bixby leaked features

A page leak of Samsung Pay Beta by SamMobile revealed one of Bixby's key features is the ability to process payments. Reports indicate that Samsung is working on a stripped down version of its online payment system, called Samsung Pay Mini that users can employ to pay for online purchases. This feature as reported will be integrated with Bixby (or Kestra), allowing users to pay for items using only their voice.

Reportedly, Bixby will be able to control pre-installed applications on the Galaxy S8. It can allow, for instance, users to fetch specific photos from the phone gallery, and that is not all. Bixby will also be integrated with the Galaxy S8's camera app.

SamMobile reported that a Bixby button inside the app will let users snap photos in the real world, locate that object on the web, and lets users buy them if they like. Bixby using the camera will also be able to process text similar to Google's Goggle app. It would be able to read the text as well as translate it into other languages.

See Now: Covert Team Inside Newsweek Revealed as Key Players in False Human Trafficking Lawsuit