Skip to main content

Bixby, Samsung's virtual assistant, is rapping insults to Siri in Korean

빅스비가 랩과 비트박스를 한다! (Bixby is Rapping!)
Bixby is the name given to Samsung’s virtual assistant installed on the new Galaxy S8 smartphones, and although it
Recommended Videos
can’t speak English yet, there is evidence it’s quite adept at rapping its native Korean. Videos showing its skills have been posted on YouTube, and have overshadowed other, more standard examples of the assistant’s brand-new voice feature. Plus, in true rap style, in some of the rhymes Bixby allegedly takes a shot at archrival Siri.

One of the lengthier videos gives us more than three minutes of Bixby rapping in a female voice, while a shorter clip from another YouTuber sees the assistant’s male voice take over the rapping duties. According to one Reddit post, this rap includes the phrase, “I am better than Siri.” While such a phrase is sure to have Samsung fans whoop and shout with glee, one could argue that in reality Siri’s grasp of multiple languages, and wider availability, does give Apple’s assistant the edge at the moment.

If you’re grabbing your own Galaxy S8 ready to ask Bixby to belt out a rap, it’s not going to work unless you’re in Korea. Samsung started releasing voice features through an update to its Korean phones this week, and promises English voice support will come during the first half of this year.

Bixby’s voice features are relatively basic at the moment, including bookmarking web pages, sharing photos on social media, taking screenshots, and opening the Bixby Vision feature. A further video shows Bixby performing some actions, such as displaying recently taken pictures and creating an album of the results, plus taking a screenshot and sending it to a contact.

It’s inevitable English-speaking Bixby will do all this for us, but the more pressing question is, will it also rap for us? Most virtual assistants have quirky features like this just waiting to be discovered, as it helps give them a slightly more “human” personality, and encourages exploration. We’ll find out what Bixby can do in the coming months.

Andy Boxall
Senior Mobile Writer
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
I record interviews for work. These are my favorite free recorder apps
The iPhone 14 Pro and Google Pixel 7 Pro's voice recording apps running together.

The Voice Recorder app on a phone (left) and the Voice Memos on another phone Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Before you head to the app store on your phone to buy a voice-recording app, take a moment to consider the apps that may already be installed on your phone. Why? In my experience, they're likely all you really need. I’ve recorded interviews and voice-overs for work for years, and I’ve found the two best examples come preinstalled on your phone already, so they’re entirely free to use.

Read more
The best Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 cases: 10 best ones so far
Two Galaxy Z Fold 5 phones next to each other -- one is open and one is closed.

Samsung’s next-generation foldable is here with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5. This iteration has some notable improvements, including a new hinge design that eliminates the gap from previous generations when the device was folded. You also get a 6.2-inch HD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the outside while having a 6.7-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display on the inside, with both screens having a 120Hz refresh rate. In other words, they're about as nice as you could ask for.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is made with premium materials, and the triple-lens camera system packs in a 50MP main shooter, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP ultrawide lens. There’s a 10MP selfie camera on the front cover, and a 4MP camera on the inner display. You also get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chip inside for the best performance and power efficiency.

Read more
Google Pixel Tablet just got its first big discount and it’s worth a look
Google Pixel Tablet on its charging dock.

Tablets are a dime-a-dozen these days, with offerings from all the great brands including Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, and more. So, if you really want to stand out in a sea of similar tech, you need to do things a little differently. That's what Google's Pixel Tablet offers. How? It comes with a unique speaker dock that can be used to both charge the device and offer room-filling sound -- almost like a smart speaker add-on. Better yet, when your Pixel Tablet is docked it benefits from the Hub Mode, turning the device into a smart display, with digital photo frame support, smart home controls, and hands-free Google functionality. Of course, it could set you back at full price, normally $499 unless you find it included in a roundup of the best Google Pixel deals. Well, guess what? Thanks to a Best Buy Google Pixel Tablet deal, you can get it today for $439 and save $60. Hurry, though, it's part of Best Buy's recent 48-hour sale so it won't stick around for long.

Why you should buy the Google Pixel Tablet
Okay, okay, so in our Google Pixel Tablet review, Joe Maring did give it less than stellar remarks, but he called out its reliable fingerprint sensor, comfortability during use and excellent speaker dock. Honestly, how many tablets come with a matching speaker dock that transforms the entire experience? This tablet also marks a "lot of firsts" for Google, as it's the first tablet from the company in nearly five years, the first Android tablet in eight years, and can be converted into a smart home display with the speaker dock. All of which are notable milestones.

Read more