Samsung brings Bixby’s music detection to Galaxy Watches

Galaxy Watches running Wear OS are getting a small quality-of-life update that gives Bixby a little more reach as Samsung’s virtual assistant.

With the release of the Galaxy Watch 4 and onward, users have been torn between using Samsung’s own Bixby Voice and Google Assistant as their little helper. The watch allows you to change the hardware shortcuts to activate your preferred voice assistant. For those who utilize Bixby, Samsung is rolling out an update that brings a new feature.

According to SamMobile, Bixby Voice version 3.0.09.12 is giving the assistant the ability to detect audible music playing through your connected device. Once activated and listening, a “What music is playing right now?” prompt will set Bixby into motion to listen for audible music. Once detected, the Galaxy Watch will display the track. As a reminder, users have to hold down the Bixby button while asking their prompt.

It looks as though this update may have already come through to the Galaxy Watch in the middle of April in the form of BixbyWatchApp version 1.3.10.8. The changelog indicates that any song playing on the connected phone will be immediately displayed after asking Bixby. In that instance, Bixby doesn’t actually have to listen for the song.

The new feature comes in handy when you need to know what song is playing before it stops playing. Having the tool right on your wrist makes it more accessible and easier to use. So long as Bixby’s music recognition proves accurate in the long term, this update should be a nice addition. In initial testing, response times can be a little hit or miss when detecting audible music playing through a different device, though it has been accurate so far. When detecting music playing through the connected phone, it has no issues at all.

Along with the new ability, Bixby Voice on the Galaxy Watch has received a new settings access point. Now, when a user activates Bixby, a little settings cog will appear at the bottom of the screen. Tapping it brings you to a couple of options, which include language and voice settings, as well as an option to turn off “voice wake-up.”

While it isn’t quite an overhaul, the usability of Bixby is expanding on the Galaxy Watch. Of course, that still might not be enough to deter users from using Google Assistant on the Wear OS watch in the first place. For that to happen, Bixby is going to have to make improvements in other categories as well.