The trend of ‘artificial intelligence’ or AI is currently circulating throughout the technology landscape and more so in the mobile landscape. Every upcoming flagship, irrespective of the brand name, is supposedly going to carry AI technology. The Pixel carries the Google Assistant while Sense Companion is coming on the HTC U Ultra. Huawei Mate 9 now has Amazon’s Alexa. And last but not the least, Samsung Galaxy S8 is expected to launch with AI software by the name of Bixby.
So, the trend has been set for any and all upcoming flagships. But what about the already launched premium smartphones in the market. If Samsung’s upcoming flagship Galaxy S8 will get the new AI technology, don’t you think it to be fitting for the company to release Bixby for the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S7 and the Note 5, which also are premium devices carrying high-end specs and still higher price label?
Well, only if wishes were turned into reality. The way things look like, any of the previously released Samsung devices won’t get Bixby. Period. However, we’ve our hopes on Galaxy S7 and S7 edge getting Bixby with the next major software upgrade (Android 8.0, maybe) and on the third-party developers over at xda to unofficially port Bixby to other Samsung devices. Until then, Bixby which will remain a Galaxy S8 exclusive feature.
Bixby for Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge were Samsung’s 2015 flagship smartphones launched with Android Lollipop OS on board. Samsung took around a year to get it upgraded to Android Marshmallow. Only recently, Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge received second OS upgrade to Nougat, which is again one year post the first one. With this ends their Android software cycle, and it is highly probable (almost certain) that the upcoming Android 8.0 won’t be reaching Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge.
Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will soon age out of their promised software update timeframe and hence won’t receive any major upgrades officially from Samsung. This fact alone puts Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge out of the question of receiving Bixby as an update from Samsung.
Bixby for Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge
Samsung launched Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge last year with Android Marshmallow. It has been bumped up to Android 7.0 Nougat. Following Samsung’s one year cycle of upgrading the OS on its devices, we assume these flagship devices will receive the Android 8.0 sometime in March next year.
Now we’ve known Samsung for providing latest features from its newest Flagship to the previous flagship with the release of the next major Android upgrade, which in this case will be Android 8.0. And since Galaxy S7 is definitely going to get the Android 8.0 update, chances are that Samsung will release Bixby for Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge devices next year around this same time.
Bixby for Galaxy Note 5 and Note Edge
Will Galaxy Note 5 and Note Edge get Bixby AI assistant? This is absolutely a no brainer. Of course not. While Note Edge hit the market in 2014, Note 5 followed suit in August 2015.
Note Edge was the first Samsung device to feature a curvy display which gathered a lot of attention in its hey days. But with the device being over two years old now, it is wearing out and is out of contention for the Android Nougat update. With this also ends all possibilities of it getting the Bixby support.
Coming to the Note 5 which has started receiving the Nougat update. It has also completed its two Android software cycle update. As such, it won’t receive any more upgraded Android support and thus there won’t be Bixby for Galaxy Note 5 either.
Having said that, we assume third-party developers might be able to get Bixby running on a variety of Samsung devices, including Galaxy S6/S6 Edge, S7/S7 Edge, Note Edge and Note 5. Bixby could come to previous Samsung devices by means of custom MODs, ROMs with the help of root access.
And if any such thing happens, be assured that we will come to your help, writing up a step-by-step guide to help you get access to Samsung Bixby on your Galaxy S6, S7, Note 5 and Note Edge devices.
