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Meet Neon, Samsung’s artificial human (who is nothing like Bixby), at CES 2020

Aaron Mamiit
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Samsung is set to unveil a new artificial intelligence product named Neon at CES 2020, and apparently, it will be nothing like the company’s A.I.-powered digital assistant Bixby.

Not much is known about Neon so far, aside from what has been posted so far on the product’s social media pages. The pinned tweet for Neon’s official Twitter account, meanwhile, is just three words that form a cryptic message.

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NEON = ARTIFICIAL HUMAN

— NEON (@neondotlife) December 27, 2019

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Supporting the “Artificial Human” teaser is a series of posters bearing the tagline “Have you met an ‘artificial’?”, with some of them in foreign languages.

Have you ever met an 'ARTIFICIAL'?#NEON #CES2020 pic.twitter.com/9y4sSFITSK

— NEON (@neondotlife) December 23, 2019

The speculation was that Neon is a more advanced version of Bixby, as Samsung has described the product as an “artificial intelligence being” that may become a user’s “best friend.” This certainly calls to mind a digital assistant like Bixby, but Neon’s official Twitter account shot down the comparison.

Honored to have so much coverage even before we unveil. But contrary to some news, NEON is NOT about Bixby, or anything you have seen before. #NEON is coming to #CES2020, so stay tuned! @neondotlife

— NEON (@neondotlife) December 26, 2019

Neon is developed by the Samsung Technology and Advanced Research Labs, or STAR Labs. Leading the unit as its President and CEO is Pranav Mistry, who is best known for his work on the Sixth Sense augmented reality technology and the Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

Mistry himself apparently could not contain his excitement for Neon.

For past few years, I have been working on something exciting. FOLLOW @neondotlife to learn more. Please SHARE and ask your friends to join, too. https://t.co/m3DEbTqqYe pic.twitter.com/jaWgALTzj4

— Pranav Mistry (@pranavmistry) December 16, 2019

Samsung’s Bixby is different from its rival digital assistants, namely Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon’s Alexa, as the software is spread out to several apps, and on the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10 Plus, those are Bixby Home, Bixby Vision, and Bixby Voice. Not all Samsung smartphone users are a fan of Bixby though, which has resulted in tutorials on how to remap the Bixby Key at the sides of Galaxy S10, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy S8 devices.

It remains to be seen exactly how Neon will be different from Bixby, and how it will be an improvement to the shortcomings of Samsung’s digital assistant. Fortunately, the wait will not be for long, as Neon is set to be unveiled after just over a week at CES 2020.

In addition to Neon, here is what we expect to see at CES 2020. The annual trade show will officially open the exhibition floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 7.

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Aaron Mamiit
Aaron Mamiit
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