SEOUL, Feb 22 — Previously, if you were a Samsung phone owner but not a Bixby user, the dedicated hardware button may have gotten under your skin more than once, to say the least; with the latest Samsung Galaxy smartphone lineup, though, you can reassign the button to whichever application you want, including those from third parties.

On Wednesday at Samsung Unpacked, the company unveiled a new collection of Galaxy-branded smartphones, all of which — including the Galaxy Fold — came with a new and improved Bixby button.

While the dedicated button hasn’t changed in terms of physical design, its capabilities have changed just enough to address one of the biggest consumer complaints: The button can now be reassigned to be a shortcut to your favourite app.

If you don’t use the virtual assistant, you can now make the button open an application of your choice, even third-party apps, with either one or two taps. If you have designated one tap for a different app, two apps will open up the conventional Bixby feed and vice versa. Holding the button down, however, will always open Bixby voice.

The feature, so far, is only available to the S10 lineup and the Galaxy Fold. There’s still no word whether or not older generations will be updated to support Bixby button customisation. — AFP-Relaxnews