I dropped Gemini for Bixby for a week, and I'm so glad that I did

Android Authority

5 days ago

Andy Walker / Android Authority
When Samsung launched Bixby in 2017, it wasn't well received. The virtual assistant, intended to rival Google Assistant, wasn't nearly as mature or capable as it is now. Nevertheless, Samsung tried to push it onto users with a dedicated button well before it was ready. The voice assistant landscape has changed significantly since then. Google Gemini has replaced Assistant as my primary voice channel, but it hasn't been smooth sailing. I've encountered many problems with Google's next-gen assistant on various devices in recent months. So, as a last resort, I turned to Bixby again. It's something that I should've done much sooner.
What is your preferred voice assistant on Android?
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Google Assistant / Gemini
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Amazon Alexa
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Samsung Bixby
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ChatGPT
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Perplexity
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Microsoft Copilot
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Another voice assistant (mention which in the comments)
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I don't use a voice assistant.
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I'm not a fervent voice assistant user. Yes, I occasionally talk to my phone, but only in certain situations — when my hands aren't free, like when I'm driving, cooking, or in the middle of a game. I'll also use a voice assistant if a query is better suited to verbal instruction. As a result, I value understanding, quick execution, and quality of answers above all else.
As I mentioned in the intro, Bixby is now a capable virtual assistant for Samsung smartphone users. It can perform various complex tasks, from article summaries to live translations. It can also open apps, tell me what song is playing, answer questions on multiple topics, and handle everyday tasks like setting reminders or alarms.
Bixby is a mixed bag of thrills and spills
Andy Walker / Android Authority
As a Galaxy S24 FE user, I hadn't bothered setting up Bixby when I got the phone, but this was a mistake. It's far slicker, quicker, and more reliable than Gemini when performing some on-device tasks.
Bixby is far slicker, quicker, and more reliable than Gemini when performing some on-device tasks
Its real strength is demonstrated through on-device tasks to trigger the camera, call up a specific settings tree, or open a particular app. While I generally don't use voice assistants this way, I asked Bixby and Gemini to 'open the selfie camera.' Bixby launched my camera app much faster than Gemini, which had to call on its Utilities extension to accomplish the same. Even a simple 'open my home screen' command, which theoretically requires the phone to hit the virtual home button, sees Bixby with a comfortable win. Samsung's assistant's better integration with One UI and the phone's hardware gives it a massive advantage for these mundane tasks.
As I own a Galaxy Watch, Bixby is also on my wrist, so I get the same control over my wearable as my smartphone. This makes for predictable outcomes, even though the feature doesn't work when power-saving mode is active. I generally use Modes and Routines to automatically trigger this feature in the afternoons. You can see the problem. However, I have found that Gemini is glacial on my smartwatch, so I'd rather work around the limitations Bixby presents here.
Andy Walker / Android Authority
Regarding offline capabilities, Bixby remains quick and responsive even if its broader feature set isn't available. I switched off mobile data and asked the assistant, 'What's 55 plus 2?' It hit me with an 'I couldn't connect' message. I'm unsure why Samsung's assistant needs the internet to solve a simple math problem, but at least it tries to answer the question. When offline and asked the same question, Gemini hangs. Gemini will flat out refuse to work in any capacity when an internet connection isn't in view.
When that Wi-Fi or mobile connection is going strong, Bixby does fall slightly behind Gemini, in my opinion. Before it could give me a 'good butter chicken recipe,' Bixby wanted me first to install SmartThings and connect my Samsung and Samsung Food accounts. It wouldn't just offer a web result, as it does for other queries. Then, when I asked it again, it provided wildly unrelated recipes. 'Ultimate risotto primavera' and 'creamy tomato pasta sauce' sound delicious, but they aren't curries, are they?
Bixby offers select smarts when offline, but when the internet is available Gemini pulls ahead.
This performance seems to be query-dependent, though. For questions like 'How do I care for a Syngonium?' Bixby opens a Google Search on Samsung Internet. Even if it mishears me, it still understands the crux of my query. Perhaps it's ironic that the top result is usually an AI Overview. Nevertheless, opening a browser window is a nice way to start a broader browser-based information search.
Notably, while expected, Bixby will always prioritize Samsung apps for information or utility. 'Save a note on Google Keep' instead saved a note to Samsung Notes. Saying 'Open Google Keep' does indeed open Keep, but Bixby cannot create actual notes within the app. As someone deeply entrenched in Google's ecosystem, this is a problem for me.
Gemini is as slow as a sloth but reaches a little further
Andy Walker / Android Authority
In these moments, I was reminded of how often I take Gemini and its features for granted. Yes, it's as slow as molasses in the Arctic, but I was still tempted to drop this experiment altogether.
Bixby lacks core elements that make the Google product valuable beyond simply calling up information or commanding my phone. One example is Gemini Live. Google's live contextual voice assistant has become a de facto scratch pad for me. I'll often walk around my house, organizing my thoughts with the tool, and then exporting the refined version to a Keep note. That's something Bixby can't offer at this point in its development.
It's difficult living without Gemini Live, especially as it has become my de facto scratch pad.
I also mentioned that Bixby struggles to succinctly serve information from the internet, instead regularly relying on other Samsung apps or its web browser. Well, Gemini does a much better job presenting this information and contains the results of queries within its UI. Let's go back to my butter chicken query. Instead of giving me Italian dishes, it explains exactly what butter chicken entails, including the use of methi. Gold star! This makes it far easier to double-check information without all the fluff of a web page.
Gemini also outperforms Bixby in another core modern assistant task: generating new content. When asked to 'generate a birthday message,' Gemini creates a standard message filled with well wishes. Bixby asks me what the message should include. This is the starkest difference between the two products' feature sets.
There are other smaller reasons why I preferred Assistant and Gemini during this experiment. Its flawless integration with Google products is one, especially Tasks, Keep, and Docs. A Nest Mini in my kitchen, which doesn't support Bixby, also pushes me to use Google's products when I need to set a timer, convert units, or play my kitchen cleaning playlist.
Gemini and Bixby: better together?
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
Both assistants still fail to be genuinely helpful in every scenario, and I still long for more functionality across the board. Neither can I input text into a WhatsApp text box, for instance, and neither seems to recognize precisely what I'm saying all the time. What is a 'simbonium' Bixby? Sure, it's an accent thing, but I can't believe their performance in this regard is still so poor.
It's difficult to recommend a winner here, so I'll likely continue using both assistants going forward.
After returning to Samsung's assistant after all these years, I feel the relatively negative sentiment towards it is unjustified. Sure, it was a terrible experience when it first launched, but in 2025, it's a solid on-device tool that works well on the company's smartphones. It lacks Gemini's generative capabilities or information processing skills, but it's much faster than Google's product in many aspects. Conversely, Gemini is still the best product for those deeply invested in Google's ecosystem, while Live remains one of the best generative AI efforts I've ever used.
So, which is best? Well, a single-word answer is pretty complicated. In the future, I'll keep Bixby on call for on-device tasks, while Gemini will be there for more generative or informational purposes. Sure, using two voice assistants on one phone might be overkill, but that's the conundrum Google and Samsung have left users with.