While the dust from Galaxy Note 7 fallout is still far from settling, Samsung is looking to the future and its next Galaxy device, perhaps in the hopes that it’ll take everyone’s minds off this whole “exploding phone batteries” thing. To that end, the company has announced it’s launching a new artificial intelligence digital assistant service along with its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone.

On Sunday, Samsung said it would integrate an AI platform called Viv — recently acquired along with a company called Viv Labs Inc. – into Galaxy smartphones as well as provide voice-assistant services for home appliances and wearable devices, Reuters reports.

Samsung is staying mum on exactly what kind of services will be offered with its new AI assistant, however.

The Wall Street Journal notes that Samsung is also testing a dedicated button for the AI Assistant, citing those ever mysterious “people familiar with the matter.”

The phone is expected to go on sale early next year, though the WSJ says executives are pushing to delay the official announcement of the phone until after the Mobile World Congress trade show in late February — when it might usually have debuted the new tech — perhaps until April.

The success of the Galaxy S8 could be vital to Samsung’s turnaround efforts after it was forced to stop production on all Galaxy Note 7 devices and issue a recall after the phones were found to be explosion prone.

Samsung to launch AI digital assistant service for Galaxy S8 [Reuters]
Samsung Tests Button for Improved AI Feature on Galaxy S8 Phone [The Wall Street Journal]

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