Samsung has never been shy in promoting Bixby, so much so that it introduced a dedicated physical key that can call up the virtual assistant on the Galaxy S8.
After that, it followed up with the Galaxy Note 8, and it may continue the trend with the upcoming Galaxy A (2018) lineup.
Galaxy A (2018) And The Bixby Button
According to a new rumor from the Chinese social network Weibo (login required), an industry insider has said that the Galaxy A (2018) phones — presumably the Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5, and Galaxy A7 — are going to sport Bixby buttons.
That means Samsung's midrange offering could adopt another one of the company's flagship features, just like the IP68 dust and water resistance the Galaxy A (2017) got following the Galaxy S7 series, for instance.
As for other details, the source unfortunately didn't have much else to say, except that the South Korean brand allegedly intends to unveil the Galaxy A (2018) sometime in early 2018 and put them up for sale in that year, which aligns with the company's traditional release strategy.
In other words, info surrounding the midrange at the moment is scarce at best, but it should be mentioned that there's a chance it could feature Samsung's lauded Infinity Display.
Bixby Button: Love It Or Hate It
At first, the Bixby button was a welcome addition, not because users wanted a way to quickly call up the virtual assistant but rather how it opened the possibility of having a customized button or shortcut for other functions.
"Was" is the keyword here since Samsung has been up and about in blocking users and third-party apps from remapping it, and to no one's surprise, nobody was happy about that.
As a silver lining of sorts, the company did hold back a little and updated Bixby with the option to disable the Bixby button, so that's something. However, even though tapping to call Bixby Home is turned off, pressing and holding it will still bring up Bixby Voice.
Put differently, accidentally triggering Bixby Home when picking up the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Note 8 and while it's in the pocket are out of the equation, but the dedicated button will still be there to haunt users.
Now keep in mind that the Galaxy A (2018) getting a Bixby button is just a rumor, and as always, it's recommended to take the news with the proverbial grain of salt.
