At the beginning of June, a fictional girl named Sam, a Samsung virtual assistant, went viral on the Internet. The charmer in a black polo shirt and blue trousers became the hero of memes, turned out to be a victim of the “rule 34” and stole the hearts of millions of people. An army of fans instantly formed around Sam, who were ready to sell their iPhone and buy some new Galaxy, if only it had this cutie.
Related news
A girl in a polo shirt and a Samsung device - the Internet is going crazy about Sam
Where did Sam even come from?
Sam was probably designed by Lightfarm. This company specializes in various visual works. Its employees create projects based on photographs, 3D art, illustrations and processing in various editors. In addition, Lightfarm can record video and work with VR/AR. In general, this is such a forge of cool visual things - an ideal incubator where Sam could be “born”. The guys’ business is booming, especially judging by the list of their work and attracted clients. They have done projects for National Geographic, advertising agency Leo Burnett, L'Oréal, Ubisoft, GoPro, Adobe and many other companies of varying levels of fame.
According to the description on the Lightfarm website, the production of Sam was ordered by the marketing company Cheil. This is an internal unit of Samsung, whose office is located in South Korea. This points to the fact that the girl with blue eyes did not appear by chance, but for specific purposes. However, since the beginning of June, a leak occurred - a page with Sam appeared on the Lightfarm website ahead of time. It was quickly deleted, but we understand perfectly well that everything that ends up on the Internet remains there forever.
Above you can see a screenshot from Facebook. This is a promotional post from Lightfarm, in which the company praises Sam and tells her what she can do. It was also deleted, but do not forget what was said in the last paragraph. In the same post, the designers again mentioned collaboration with Cheil.
The very first video with Sam appeared on YouTube on May 31. It was quickly installed by an ordinary user under the nickname Andri Pw. In the video, the author included all the screenshots of the leak, as well as a series of 2D arts with Sam and a small trailer where the girl appears in full 3D.
The video was published on the Andri Pw YouTube channel.
Why Google Assistant doesn't work
If you are faced with the fact that Google Assistant does not work for some reason, then the first thing you should try is to restart your device. Next, we recommend checking the compatibility of your gadget with the application. To do this, check the versions of Android OS (must be older than 5.0) and Google applications (6.13 and older), and also make sure that you have at least 1 GB of RAM.
Next, you need to check whether voice control is turned off on your device. Go to the Google app, click on the three dots icon in the top right. In the window that appears, go to the “Settings” menu, and then to the “Voice Search” section. In the list, find the “Voice Match” item, turn on “Access using Voice Match”. If this does not help, then, as an option, you can still re-record samples of your voice in the “Voice Input” settings.
Other problems on the way to the correct operation of Google Assistant may be an inoperative microphone, poor Internet connection, or other installed voice assistants.
And then it started
In seven days, the debut video with Sam collected 700 thousand views. Not enough, you say? An unofficial Sam Samsung account appeared on Twitter, with just over ten thousand subscribers. Its host mainly retweets various memes, art and other content related to the heroine. The Twitter feed with content related to Sam is updated literally every two minutes.
But Sam gained the greatest popularity in Tik Tok. In about a week, users of the social network have uploaded, attention, 80 and a half million (yes, millions) clips using the hashtag #Samsunggirl - Sam is involved in each of them in one way or another.
With Sam, a whole ton of memes and art instantly appeared of varying degrees of severity and elaboration.
She is cosplayed by charming girls.
Well, where would we be without something hot? Such a beautiful character with partially Japanese facial features instantly attracted 16+ and 18+ content creators. Videos with the girl even appeared on adult sites, which collect more than 200 thousand views.
Bixby development
For Samsung, this assistant is far from the first development, because a similar program was implemented back in 2012. Along with the release of the Samsung Galaxy S3, the company presented its smart assistant S Voice, which at that time was positioned as a competitor to Siri in the Apple iPhone.
The capabilities of S Voice were very modest: opening applications, getting information about the weather and exchange rates, informing about the latest events in the world. In 2012, this was quite enough to satisfy basic user needs.
S Voice statistics were much worse than Apple's competitive assistant, and then Korean engineers started thinking about improving the technology. At the end of 2016, the project was finally closed and ceased to be supported, and the new Bixby assistant was announced as an analog development at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2022 conference. The new product was initially supported only by the flagship smartphone Galaxy S8, but now the Bixby version is available on Google Play for all devices of the Samsung Galaxy line of models S6 and higher.
What will happen next?
The funny thing is that as of June 7, Samsung has not commented on the hype around Sam. Apparently, heated proceedings are currently underway within the company and a decision is being made about the girl’s future. But you can be sure that she was hyped specifically - it’s been a long time since a major brand caused such a boom on social networks with one small leak.
One thing is for sure. If Sam stays and is implemented in the next Samsung flagship, she will sell her more smartphones than all the marketers in the world combined. Because it’s unforgivable for a company of this level to miss out on such hype.
Installing and launching Google Assistant
If you are the proud owner of a modern smartphone running the Android 5.0 operating system or older, then there is a high probability that Google Assistant is already pre-installed on your device. If it is not there, then you can download the program from the company’s Play Store application store.
To launch the assistant for the first time, you need to use the Google application. To activate and configure the assistant, you need to go to the “Updates” tab. For the application to function correctly, it will ask you for the appropriate permissions and offer to perform a Voice Match to determine and subsequently recognize your voice. When setting up the voice assistant, you can o. This will allow you to activate the assistant even when the screen is locked. The corresponding setting can be found in the “Voice Search” submenu in the Google application settings.
You can call Google Assistant in the following ways:
- Launch a separately installed application;
- Say the phrase “Okay, Google”;
- Press and hold the virtual Home button (in some Android smartphone models);
- Click on the corresponding icon on the Google search widget.
Enabling Okay Google on a mobile device
Launch OK Google:
- depending on the version of Android, click on the Google search bar or the microphone next to it
- say one of the available commands into the microphone
This is how you enable OK Google.
For the most part, Okay Google queries are simply typed into the search bar after being spoken into the microphone. In some cases, the response to a voice command may be spoken in a synthesized voice. For example, to the question “Where was Pushkin born?”, the robot will answer you in Russian: “Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was born in Moscow.” This will display information about the mentioned city on the phone screen (in Google search results). If you say “what does it look like…” before a phrase or command, then, as a result of a voice search, the Google search results will display the result of a search for photographs of the item mentioned in the request.
Okay Google app and voice search in action. Reaction to commands
Installing OK Google on your computer . Unlike mobile devices, no additional programs are required to install the OK Google voice add-on on your computer. The only condition is that you have a browser installed on your PC and a microphone connected to your PC. For voice control, it is advisable to use the Google Chrome browser: the search feature is best implemented in it.
Until 2015, the Chrome browser settings had a corresponding option in the “Search” section of the options. However, now she is gone. Therefore, to use Ok Google (i.e., the voice search function), just go to the Google page and click the button to the right of the search bar to pronounce the command.
Enable Google voice in the Chrome browser
OK Google Voice Assistant Features
Using the " Ok Google " application, a phone user can
- assign a wide range of voice commands to the Android system
- search on the Internet and Google search engine
- receive accurate answers to queries in audio format
- manage applications and services on a mobile device
It is important to know that the service fully works in Russian, that is, it recognizes speech. Therefore, a Russian-speaking user will not have any difficulties in mastering the search tool.
Bixby features
The Korean company considers its development incredibly popular, because the Galaxy S8, Note 8 and later models have a separate key for calling the smart assistant. It's noteworthy that you can't reassign the key's function, but you can disable it if you don't use Bixby.
If S Voice was designed to facilitate interaction with a smartphone, then Bixby is also intended to control Samsung SmartThings household appliances. Right from your phone, you can run a delicate wash cycle in your washing machine, turn on the defrost of your refrigerator, or set a timer to turn off your TV.
The key functions of the smart assistant of Korean developers can be divided into three points.
Bixby Voice
You can call the voice assistant with one phrase “Hi, Bixby.” The assistant is ready to fulfill any of your requests: launch an application, show help about something, inform you about the latest news, and much more. Samsung is positioning this feature as a revolutionary way to control your smartphone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFZ8XFInd2o
Bixby Vision
This function is especially useful when it is necessary to translate text. Just point the camera at an incomprehensible piece of foreign text and immediately get a translation. This feature is relevant when traveling, when unfamiliar signs or inscriptions can confuse you.
https://youtu.be/_JuhhU4A2uo
Samsung Bixby will be happy to help you understand an unclear word or name. In addition, you can point the camera at any product and find out all the available information about it, as well as its nearest points of sale. Based on a photo of a dish, Bixby can determine the calorie content of food or even show a cooking recipe. It is noteworthy that the function works both live and with previously taken photos or images from the network.
Bixby Home
As stated earlier, Bixby is capable of controlling your home appliances. It is worth noting that this function is only supported on modern products from the Samsung SmartThings lineup. And it can become an integral part of your smart home from Samsung technology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jcclMDjb_8
Where is Google Assistant on Android?
Google Assistant is part of the operating system; it is reinstalled by many developers right away on phones, so the user does not download anything and can immediately use this assistant.
It is located inside the operating system, so deleting it is a process that must be carried out through developer rights; the user himself can only disable google assistant on Android, at which point his powers end.
If a user wants to permanently remove the voice assistant from the Android system, then he will not be able to do this. This requires special rooted rights, which can completely break the Android system. You should be more careful.
The voice assistant is preinstalled on all devices of popular companies: Samsung, Xiaomi and others. Each user can also disable the Google application. To avoid so many questions in the future, it’s worth answering the most basic functions of Android Assistant on your phone.
Vyacheslav
For several years he worked in mobile phone stores of two large operators. I understand tariffs well and see all the pitfalls. I love gadgets, especially Android ones.
Ask a Question
Question to the expert
What are the main functions of Google Assistant?
There are quite a lot of functions, but here are the most basic ones: • Quick response to basic user requirements; • Finding the necessary information; • Answers to questions on weather and main phenomena; • And much more.
Why might the assistant not work?
The main thing is that the user has installed the assistant, but his version of Android is not suitable for it.
How to completely remove Google Assistant from Android
Complete removal of Google Assistant is possible only if the user is ready to violate the Android system, one way or another to act on auxiliary elements. Alternatively, if he does not want to do this, he can use a complete shutdown by deactivating the auxiliary functions. That is, in the main settings there is a function available where the user can remove all auxiliary functions, including voice input and others.
To do this you need:
- Open the phone settings, which are located on its main screen;
- After that, go to the “Applications” section;
- In this section, the user needs to open an item called “Assistant”, that is, activate the application itself;
- Now we find the “Delete” button and simply delete it from the phone system.
After deletion, the user will see that the voice assistant has completely disappeared from the phone system. Of course, Google itself will not be removed in any way, however, one of its main auxiliary functions will be deactivated.
Voice launch of Android applications
Other functionality of the “Okay Google” application includes close work with the Android OS. To open a program via okey google, use the command “open (application name)”, start playing music in the player - at the request “listen...” or “play (name of song)”. You can use commands to open the most popular applications on your mobile device (for example, the command “turn on flashlight” will open the corresponding widget). There are a great many options for using OK Google, it all depends on your desire to use the potential of the OK Google application in conjunction with Android.
Summary . Voice search technology is quite young and was recently introduced by Google. But the usefulness of the auxiliary application is felt from the very first minutes of testing on Android. Over the short period of its existence, an impressive number of recognizable voice commands in Russian have been developed for the Google service. Their number is growing every month.
If you are connected to the Internet and don’t have time to spend a long time entering queries into a search engine in text form, setting reminders or writing notes, the Okey Google application for Android will simplify your life. Enabling OK Google and then setting up the application on your phone is not at all difficult. Voice Google quickly responds to the commands of the user of a mobile device, and instantly. This is another reason to download Okay Google on your Android phone or computer.
