Aside from its stunning bezel-less display, Samsung had heavily marketed its brand new Bixby virtual assistant during the recent launch of its new flagship smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus sports a myriad of functionalities and unique features, but the main attraction that the company wanted to showcase was the technology that was within the devices.

However, new reports have now revealed that Samsung's new artificial intelligence-driven virtual assistant may not be fully ready just yet. According to The Verge, Samsung apparently released a statement to announce that not all of the functions that were promised for Bixby will be making it during the flagship smartphone's global launch.

"Key features of Bixby, including Vision, Home, and Reminder, will be available with the global launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8 on April 21. Bixby Voice will be available in the US on the Galaxy S8 later this spring," Samsung had explained in their statement.

The news does come as quite a disappointment for some fans that were looking forward to interacting with the virtual assistant using voice commands. According to GSM Arena, Samsung didn't really have a detailed explanation for the delayed release of Bixby's Voice feature, but it seems like they are taking their time to make sure that it works properly.

Releasing a half-baked function would only serve to further tarnish their reputation, which is why a delay may have been the best course of action. Bixby's full functionality may eventually be released through a future update. Unfortunately, Samsung hadn't really specified a release date for that either.

Samsung likely invested a lot of time and effort into the new software, which is clearly apparent in their willingness to include a dedicated button on the device to summon the virtual assistant. When the phone does arrive, users will still be able to use some of Bixby's functions, including its augmented reality Bixby Vision feature and its dynamic Bixby Home screen.