Samsung Galaxy S8: Bixby AI voice assistant is being delayed

There was plenty of confusion about the feature ahead of the smartphone's launch

The S8 has a dedicated Bixby button, but that can be reconfigured to launch Google Assistant instead

The Samsung Galaxy S8 will ship without voice control for its virtual assistant, Bixby.

Samsung has huge ambitions for the new feature, which it calls an “intelligent interface”.

The company believes it could completely change the way consumers interact with their devices, and has even equipped the S8 with a physical Bixby button.

Fortunately, that button can be reconfigured.

Bixby will still run on the S8 and S8 Plus when the smartphones start shipping to customers in the UK later this month, but not to its full potential.

Bixby Voice works in a similar manner to Apple’s Siri, allowing users to control their handset with spoken commands.

There was some confusion about Bixby Voice ahead of the launch of the S8, with Samsung initially saying that it wouldn’t be available in the UK right away.

However, the company made a swift U-turn and announced Bixby availability for UK users, but said it would be optimised for Korean and American users.

Samsung now says that Bixby Voice will arrive later this spring.

Bixby Vision, however, is good to go, and will allow users to search for products and information using the S8’s camera.

In Bixby Voice’s absence, customers can make use of Google Assistant, another voice assistant that comes pre-loaded on the phone.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ cost £689 and £779, and will hit the market on 28 April.