Samsung is extending its Bixby remapping option to owners of older Galaxy handsets. The feature first became available on the just-unveiled Galaxy S10 lineup, and now S8 and S8 Plus, S9 and S9 Plus, Note 8, and Note 9 users can finally reassign their Bixby buttons, too.
To get the Bixby remapping update, users must have a compatible Galaxy device that's running Android Pie or Samsung's One Touch UI skin. If so, the update should just naturally arrive unprompted. If not, go to the Galaxy Store and look for the update.
Remap To Any App Except This One
There is, however, one major caveat: although users can remap Bixby to trigger any other app, Google Assistant is out of the list. As is Cortana or any other digital assistants from rival manufacturers — regardless if these apps are installed on the device.
Users also can't disable Bixby entirely or remove it. The best option is to remap the button to open up an app of choice either by a single press or a double press. Bixby will launch via whatever pressing mechanic is not assigned to a third-party app. Pressing and holding the button will always launch Bixby, by the way, regardless of the settings.
How To Remap The Bixby Button
Once the update is installed, the Bixby button can be remapped by heading to Settings, then Advanced Features, then Bixby key. There, users will be presented with a number of options, including single-press and double-press triggers. There are two remappable functions available. Users can either remap the button to open an app or run a quick command.
It's a decent and fair workaround, but a far cry compared to the complete remap that was available then disabled via software updates in some third-party apps that allowed users to remap the button.
Samsung Bixby
Bixby is Samsung's answer to Google Assistant, and like its rival, it also features a number of capabilities powered by artificial intelligence. One of them is Bixby Vision, which helps users search for things using the camera and object recognition technology.
The personal voice assistant also acts like a dashboard containing the user's day-to-day activities, calendar events, and important reminders, to name a few. Still, many Galaxy customers largely find Bixby superfluous, wondering why Samsung couldn't opt to make Google Assistant the default for its phones instead.
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