Bixby button remapping coming to other Galaxy phones incl. Note 9, S9

Damien Wilde | Feb 22 2019 - 6:35 am PT

Just because the Samsung overload wasn’t quite done, there is more news about the sometimes infuriating Bixby button. Older Galaxy devices will receive an update to match the Galaxy S10’s ability to remap the button to a favored app in the coming weeks.

Originally reported by The Verge, this ability to remap the button will no doubt be an absolute godsend to many of you out there that really cannot abide by the often frustrating Bixby. Bixby itself isn’t exactly terrible.

It does play nicely with many of the pre-installed applications in a way that the Google Assistant can’t. But when you can simply change your default apps to get around this anyway — it makes Bixby feel more like a roadblock than anything useful in our experience.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ include a built-in method for remapping the Bixby button to a command of your own selection. Samsung has now confirmed that the feature will be heading to the Galaxy Note 9, Note 8, Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S8 — which is excellent news.

You’ll be able to either disable the button entirely or change it to launch an action or application with a single tap. The problem is that long pressing and or double-tapping will still launch Bixby when using this in-built remap method. It’s not the full replacement that we hoped we would be able to achieve, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.