| Cult of Mac

Samsung will fight HomePod with Bixby smart speaker

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Phil Schiller gives the world a sneak peek at the HomePod during WWDC 2017.
We'd love to see Apple lavish some more attention on the HomePod.
Photo: Apple

There isn’t an Apple product Samsung doesn’t have an answer to, so it’s not surprising to hear the South Korean company is developing its own HomePod rival.

It will be powered by Bixby, the Galaxy S8’s new virtual assistant, but it’s likely to be a while before it’s ready to hit the market.

Consumer Reports picks Galaxy S8 over iPhone 7, everything else

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Galaxy S8 in hand
Galaxy S8 is the smartphone to buy, says Consumer Reports.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have been rated the best smartphones available by Consumer Reports.

Both devices outranked their rivals — including the iPhone 7 — in design, battery life, and camera performance. However, they aren’t considered perfect, with testers noting that they are difficult to operate with one hand, and their fingerprint scanners are awkwardly-placed.

Number of Siri-style AI assistants will overtake humans by 2021

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unnamed
How Ovum thinks AI assistants will occupy the marketplace in 2021.
Photo: Ovum

The number of AI assistants by 2021 will outnumber the current world population, according to market research group Ovum’s new Digital Assistant and Voice AI–Capable Device Forecast.

The report highlights the growing popularity of Siri-style smart assistants, and also offers some intriguing predictions as to which AI assistants will become big, and which will be also-rans.

Galaxy S8 review roundup: Samsung just schooled the iPhone

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Galaxy S8 Infinity Display
Samsung has a winner in the Galaxy S8.
Photo: Samsung

The first reviews of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ have dropped a day ahead of their official launch in many markets, and there’s one thing to take away from them: Samsung just knocked it out of the park with its best smartphones to date.

Despite the problems the company encountered with the Galaxy Note 7 last fall, it has managed to produce two new devices that don’t disappoint. From gorgeous design and impressive cameras to the best display on the market, the Galaxy S8 series has it all.

It might not perfect, but the changes and improvements Samsung has made show Apple what a smartphone should be in 2017, and make it even more difficult for the iPhone to catch up.

Here’s our review roundup.

Hands on: Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 vs. the iPhone 7

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The S8 looks stunning next to old smartphones.
The S8 looks stunning next to old smartphones.
Photo: Casey Neistat/YouTube

Samsung just barely took the wraps off its new Galaxy S8 and S8+ this morning, but famous YouTuber Casey Neistat already managed to get his hands on the sleek new devices. We gotta say, Samsung’s new smartphones make the iPhone look old.

In his new vlog, Neistat goes hands-on with the S8 and S8+ and compares them directly to Apple’s iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Neistat admits the review is a bit biased as he’s worked with Samsung in the past. However, in his side-by-side tests with the iPhone 7, it’s not hard to see that Samsung probably has a big hit on its hands.

Prepare to drool:

Samsung Galaxy S8 sets a high bar for this year’s iPhone

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Galaxy S8
The Galaxy S8 is a stunner.
Photo: Samsung

Samsung today unveiled its stunning new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, setting a high bar for this year’s iPhone refresh.

The Android flagship is packed with impressive features and stellar specifications, and it sports a gorgeous curved glass design with an edge-to-edge Infinity Display. It’s the most impressive smartphone we’ve seen so far this year.