CES 2019: Samsung Says Bixby Will Soon Work With Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Play

Samsung at CES 2019 has revealed that it is adding more content partners to its Bixby voice assistant, including the Google products like Google Maps and YouTube. The South Korean company also announced that it is going to integrate Bixby in more of its products. Additionally, Samsung gave us a sneak peek at its robotics platform by demonstrating Samsung Bot Care, which is a small robot meant to help the consumers manage their daily health routines.

The South Korean company has announced Bixby will be integrated to Samsung's 2019 QLED and premium TV lineup as well as smart appliances like the refrigerators, washers, and air conditioners. Further, the company is planning to add the voice assistant to cars as well as robotics platforms. The Bixby was originally added to the cars last year, but with the introduction of Samsung's 2019 Digital Cockpit, it will be able do a lot more things, including reporting fuel levels, adjusting car temperature, and more.

Among other Bixby-related developments, Google is bringing support for several of its products to the voice assistant. The search giant will allow the Bixby users to access Gmail, YouTube, Google Play, and Google Maps. This follows an earlier announcement, in which the Mountain View-based company had revealed that Samsung's Smart TVs will now support Google Assistant via Assistant-powered hardware like Google Home, a third-party smart speaker, or smart display.

The inclusion of Google products will certainly give Bixby a bit of legitimacy, considering it has having a hard time competing with the more established players like Amazon's Alexa and Google's own Assistant. Samsung Bixby was originally introduced for the company's mobile devices, but has since moved to other platforms, including smart speakers.

Among other new partners, iHeartRadio will also now be available on Bixby.

In addition to the Bixby-related developments, Samsung also gave the CES attendees a look at the strides it has made in robotics platforms. The company demonstrated the Samsung Bot Care robot at the event, which it claims can help consumers manage their health and assist in related tasks.

Samsung Bot Care at CES 2019
Photo Credit: Samsung

According to the company, the Samsung Bot Care can take and report a person's vitals like blood pressure and heart rate. It can also monitor sleep cycles, track medicine intake, and offer daily heath briefings. Additionally, the robot can call the emergency services when required as well as provide music therapy.

It is unclear when the Samsung Bot Care will reach the market.