Samsung Bixby to Be Available in New Languages, Including German, Italian, and Spanish

Samsung on Wednesday unveiled a smartphone - the Galaxy Fold - that folds open to be a tablet, becoming the first major manufacturer to offer the feature as it strives to stoke excitement in a slumping market. It also unveiled the Galaxy S10 series lineup, apart from a new lineup of wearables. Finally, it announced an expansion of Bixby to more languages.

At its San Francisco event, Samsung announced that its digital assistant Bixby will be available in new languages - British English, German, Italian, and Spanish - in addition to the already available US English, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese.

The move helps Samsung step up efforts in the rapidly growing field of voice-based artificial intelligence dominated by Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant.

"We are strongly committed to our AI business, and continuously expanding Bixby's intelligence capabilities to provide more users with the best possible AI experience," said Eui-Suk Chung, Samsung's head of software and AI.

The company also introduced a new lineup of wearable tech devices including its Galaxy Watch Active smartwatch, Galaxy Fit trackers and its cord-free earbuds, called Galaxy Buds.

The smartwatch will support apps designed to monitor blood pressure and stress indicators and is designed to detect a variety of workouts including running, biking and rowing.

"Consumers are increasingly putting their overall well-being at the centre of their lifestyle decisions, and they're looking for wearables that make it easier to get active and stay balanced every day," said Koh.

Samsung is opening three US retail stores to promote its Galaxy line of smartphones, stepping up competition with Apple.

Written with inputs from AFP