Verizon Wireless started rolling out a software update for all Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus units on its network that enables the Bixby Vision feature on Samsung’s latest pair of Android flagships, some of the carrier’s subscribers have confirmed. The visual search functionality of Samsung’s new artificial intelligence (AI) assistant was disabled on Verizon‘s variants of the devices at launch for an unknown reason, so all of the company’s subscribers were unable to use the feature for almost two weeks now. The New Jersey-based mobile service provider vowed to fix the issue soon after releasing the devices and has now seemingly delivered on that promise.
The software package that enables Bixby Vision on Verizon’s Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus models is being distributed as an over-the-air (OTA) update that reportedly started being pushed out on Wednesday, meaning the rollout will likely take several days to be completed. Verizon’s subscribers that are eager to try Bixby Vision as soon as possible can attempt searching for the update manually by launching the Settings app on their Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus, tapping the “Software update” menu, and selecting the “Download updates manually” option on the following interface. Everyone else can simply wait for their device to detect the update that it scans for periodically, after which they’ll receive a notification prompting them to download and install the new firmware version. Refer to the gallery below to see how the Amazon-powered Bixby Vision feature looks like on Verizon’s models of the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus.
Following the completion of Verizon’s rollout of the patch detailed above, all members of Samsung’s new flagship family in the United States will have access to Bixby’s visual search. Additionally, the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus will soon be updated with Bixby Voice that will provide Samsung’s assistant with support for voice interactions. The rollout of Bixby Voice already started in Samsung’s home country of South Korea, and the feature is expected to be distributed to more territories in the coming weeks. An update on new software additions to the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus will likely follow soon.
