Samsung could bring Google Assistant to TVs, lowering wall around Bixby

A new report from Variety suggests some interesting news: Samsung could bring Google Assistant to its 2019 televisions. This would be the first time Samsung has allowed a virtual assistant on its TV products that isn’t its own Bixby.

Although information is scarce at the moment, Variety suggests the two virtual assistants will live next to each other in harmony, similar to how Google Assistant and Alexa are both made available on LG televisions. If this is the case, customers could then choose whether to use Bixby or Google Assistant for all or some of the necessary tasks.

Samsung’s flagship smartphones — such as the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy Note 9 — come with Bixby heavily integrated, including a physical Bixby button. Users can install Google Assistant on these phones, but Samsung makes it very clear that it wants you to use Bixby instead.

If Samsung does allow Google Assistant onto its 2019 televisions, it will represent a sizable shift in its attitude towards Bixby, which as of now has been pretty much “all or nothing.” The company has already committed to putting Bixby on literally every product it makes by 2020, but if it also brings Assistant to its TVs, that means it could integrate Assistant into other products as well.

Although there are advantages to using Bixby over Google Assistant — such as better command functionality when asking your smartphone to perform a task — in almost all cases Google Assistant is superior. Assistant’s superiority is especially clear when you discuss smart home integration, considering there still is no Bixby-powered smart speaker available and no third-party integration available yet.

What do you think? Are you going to be more apt to buy a Samsung TV if it has Google Assistant? Let us know in the comments.

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