Samsung Galaxy S8 owners, you can’t customise the Bixby button anymore

Samsung has released an over-the-air update for the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus that will prevent anyone from using a third-party app to override the Bixby button to launch a rival voice-assistant instead.

• What is Bixby? Samsung’s smart AI explained

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus both come with a dedicated, side-mounted button to launch Samsung’s very own voice-assistant, Bixby. Bixby is able to control almost all functions on the Galaxy S8, such as launching the photo album, creating new albums, casting content to a nearby TV and adjusting various settings.

To use it, you need to hold down the dedicated button, speak your command, and let go. The button was never intended to be customised, but earlier in April, Reddit user Homeguy123 found a third-party app called All In One Gestures, that made it possible to remap the button to launch something like Google Assitant instead, meaning you weren’t forced to use Samsung’s own version.

While only a select few have their hands on the Galaxy S8 handsets for now, it was generally considered a good thing that the button could be configured, as it opened up possibilities for customisation that makes Android so popular.

• Samsung Galaxy S8: Release date, specs and everything you need to know
• Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus: Release date, specs and everything you need to know
• What is Google Assistant, how does it work and which devices offer it?

With the arrival of the update however, that’s now all set to change. Samsung has previously said that Bixby will be integrated into more of its devices in the coming years, and will be used to control everything from the TV to air conditioning.