Here we are. With smartphones evolving relatively little from one year to the next, manufacturers are forced to create an impression of novelty with purely software-related updates. During our test of the Samsung Galaxy A56, we came across an indefensible restriction.
The Korean manufacturer's new mid-range smartphone is fortunate to be among the first phones to benefit from One UI 7, which won't be rolled out more widely until April 7, 2025.
As we indicated in our hands-on at the time of the announcement, the Galaxy A56 still loses a few features compared to the high-end models, the Galaxy S25. For example, Now Brief, a daily summary system that remains exclusive to the latest phone.
Bixby isn't dead
But that's not all. We discovered during our Galaxy A56 review that an unexpected restriction was imposed on users (this should also be the case on the Galaxy A36 and A26). And this one concerns none other than Bixby. Yes, you read that right, Samsung's assistant isn't dead, quite the opposite, since it's installed by default as a conversational assistant.
By the way, this had escaped us when we were testing the Galaxy S25, the assistant has been reworked to better meet the standards of 2025 and the many AI-powered chatbots. Except that Bixby's capabilities remain just as limited. And this is even more obvious in the era of generative AI.
An unacceptable software blockage
At this point, you're probably thinking that this isn't a big deal, since Android lets you choose your digital assistant. It's actually very easy to replace Bixby with Gemini, Perplexity, ChatGPT, and the like.
On the other hand, Samsung has added another restriction, and this one is completely absent from the Galaxy S25. Since Google pushed Gemini to Android to replace Google Assistant, the usual shortcut to summoning a digital assistant is a long press on the lock button.
Gold on the Galaxy A56, the side button, as Samsung calls it in its interface, cannot invoke Gemini or any other chatbot. In fact, in the dedicated menu, the only two options offered are Bixby or the power menu to turn off or restart the phone.
Result: if you want to call an assistant other than Bixby, you'll either have to buy a Galaxy S25 (which is not at all the same budget), or fall back on another brand. Let's hope this is just a youthful error from One UI 7 and not a deep desire from Samsung to push its assistant, which is currently not up to scratch.
0 Comments