(Yicai Global) Nov. 22 -- South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co. [KRX:005930] has unveiled a Chinese version of Bixby, its voice-powered digital assistant, with a commercial release on its flagship Galaxy S8 and Note 8 handsets to follow later this month, the company said in a press briefing yesterday.

Bixby voice assistant works with more than 7,000 Samsung mobile applications including Phonebook, Album, Clock and Weather, as well as 18 popular Chinese third-party apps such as WeChat, Alipay and Baidu Map, said Zhang Daijun, managing director of Samsung's China R&D Institute.

Samsung released Bixby in South Korea and the US in March, but it is still not available on S8 phones sold in China due to complexities associated with the Chinese language. The feature was developed through a local research institute.

Samsung will introduce Bixby 2.0 in China next year, offer enhanced augmented reality (AR) features, said Gyehyun Kwon, president of Samsung Greater China. The firm will also unveil Galaxy AIUX, a completely new artificial intelligence (AI) operating system, in February next year.