Just about a week ago, Samsung confirmed something pretty exciting—– it was going to finally let users remap the Bixby button on their galaxy phones. As of February 8, 2019, a software update is rolling out that enables this functionality.
After you download and install the update, you’ll find a new option in the Bixby key setting on your device. With these controls, you can choose what a single press of the Bixby button does and what a double press triggers.
While you still can’t completely disable Bixby, you can move it to the double press so that you’re less likely to trigger it and have your single press do something more useful——- such as turning on your flashlight or enabling Do Not Disturb.
You can also use the single press to open up another app on your phone, but as spotted by Dan Seifert from The Verge, Samsung blocks you from remapping to it to open Google Assistant. Because of course, it does.
Bixby button to open Google Assistant
Thanks to the folks at XDA, a workaround has been created for remapping the Bixby button to open the Google Assistant.
Basically, XDA created a Tasker script that enables the functionality and then turned it into an APK. All you need to do is download the app file, select it as the app you want to open with a single press of the Bixby button, and when you do that, you’ll get an option to have it always open Google Assistant.
In any case, if you want to learn how to remap the Bixby button on your own phone when the updates lands be sure to check out these steps
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How to remap the Bixby button?
- Open settings.
- Tap advanced features.
- Tap Bixby key.