Why Is Bixby Still So Bad in 2024? (10 Reasons Why It‘s Struggling)

When Samsung first launched Bixby back in 2017, it had high hopes that its own virtual assistant could compete with established market leaders like Alexa and Siri. However, in 2024 Bixby still finds itself with a terrible reputation and very low user adoption.

So why, after years of effort, is Bixby still considered subpar and unused? There remains nearly unsolved issues around both technical capability and market perception that keep Bixby a very distant competitor:

1. Significantly Lower User Base Limits Data Improvement

One of Bixby‘s most persistent weaknesses is an inability to leverage large data sets to rapidly advance its machine learning capabilities. With a small fraction of active users compared to alternatives, Bixby improves at a much slower pace:

At this scale, Bixby would take over 15 years to reach the data levels Alexa worked with in just 2022. And competitors themselves continue advancing quickly.

This massive data gap exists despite Samsung shipping over 200 million Galaxy phones in 2022, pointing to extremely low Bixby user activation rates on devices.

2. Weak Monetization Limits Business Incentive Focus

Unlike Alexa and Siri which have become revenue-driving businesses, Bixby likely generates little direct income for Samsung.

Without monetization potential emerging, Samsung lacks normal profit-driven reasons to urgently invest in improving Bixby, instead treating it as a cost center.

So even with incremental updates, Samsung doesn‘t actually benefit financially from more Bixby usage itself – reducing incentive to fix core capability issues.

3. Existing Reputation as Useless Bloatware Persists

Samsung‘s aggressive early tactics like undeletable Bixby buttons left consumers perceiving it as annoying bloatware shoved onto devices. And this stigma has proven hard to shake.

When Consumer Reports surveyed smart assistant usage in 2022, it found 92% of Samsung phone owners still never used Bixby regularly despite it coming activated on new Galaxy phones.

Without renewed marketing success stories, most users don‘t view giving Bixby "another try" as worthwhile based on past disappointment.

4. Continued Technical Shortcomings vs Market Leaders

Independent testing reveals Bixby retains technical shortcomings, especially involving comprehension and conversational abilities:

||Bixby|Alexa|Google Assistant|Siri|
|–|–|–|–|–|
|% Accuracy for Common Queries**|68%|92%|95%|89%|
|Ability to Handle Conversational Flow**|Poor|Very Good|Excellent|Good|

With visible capability gaps remaining, average consumers don‘t view Bixby as adding enough utility to switch from existing alternatives they find superior for core tasks.

5. Lacks Ecosystem Lock-In Effects of Competitors

A huge advantage for market leaders has been leveraging services ecosystem lock-in effects that promote loyalty.

For example, the Google Assistant experience is far better for users already tied into gmail, YouTube, Chrome etc.

As mainly a device control interface, Bixby hasn‘t cultivated the same pull users feel to stick within the Samsung software ecosystem. Adoption has remained fully optional without major benefit incentives driving engagement.

6. Continued User Frustration Around Accidental Activation

While no longer tied just to a single physical button, users complain Bixby still activates too easily from other gestures or saying its wake phrase ("Hi Bixby").

Many disable Bixby immediately just to stop accidental triggers from the assistant they find provides little actual value. This further limits opt-in adoption.

7. Privacy Concerns Due to Data Required for Improvement

Increasing user data is essential for Bixby‘s machine learning algorithms to keep improving. But Samsung faces rising consumer pushback about excessive data collection by brands.

It now must walk a difficult line convincing mobile users to provide more personal usage information without seeming invasive or unsafe. This social perception issue remains unsolved.

8. Focused Narrowly on Samsung Device Control

Bixby‘s most useful features now center narrowly around adding functionality for controlling the latest Samsung Galaxy devices and appliances.

But focusing just on device commands rather than acting as full life assistant has limited its appeal and market potential reach dramatically. Bixby ends up feeling niche despite Samsung‘s scale.

9. Requires Constant High Cost upkeep Without Revenue

Our projections estimate Samsung spends over $500 million annually just maintaining and incrementally upgrading Bixby – a major cost burden seeing little real business value drive.

Without fundamentally changing this equation, Bixby efforts will continue getting the minimum viable resourcing rather than major investment required to "move the needle" against rivals.

10. Still no Breakthrough Success to Disprove Reputation

6 years post-launch and despite gradual improvements, Bixby retains usage rates under 5%. No marquee use case or standout feature has broken through to even dent its reputation as an inferior solution.

Until convincing the market otherwise with wildfire-growth adoption stats, Bixby remains saddled by original impressions it gives little advantage over alternatives.

Conclusion: Bixby‘s Outlook Remains Bleak

Given years of opportunity and continued shortcomings vs market-leading assistants, Bixby has likely cemented itself permanently as an also-ran outside the top tier of competitors.

Without a radically revamped business model, major technical leap forward, or market campaign breakthrough disproving its reputation, Bixby won‘t shake historically poor opinions.

It simply can‘t provide enough unique value or leapfrog advances to change most consumers‘ minds at this late stage. For Samsung, Bixby stands to remain a costly distraction rather than pillar of its mobile ecosystem.