When Samsung launched its new flagship Galaxy S range, it also debuted a new smart assistant – Bixby.
The virtual assistant is the South Korean company’s answer to Siri and Google Now.
Like its rivals, Bixby is designed to keep you abreast of all the latest headlines and weather updates, answer any pressing general knowledge queries, and add appointments to your diary.
Bixby is one of the headline features of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, and as a result, Samsung fitted a dedicated hardware button for the digital assistant to the new phones.
However, its placement beneath the volume rocker has been a little problematic.
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A number of Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ owners have complained about accidentally tapping the button – and invoking Bixby – while trying to adjust the volume.
Samsung seems to have heard those complaints, as the latest software update for Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ handsets allows users to disable the button.
Toggling the Bixby button does not remove the virtual assistant.
Bixby is still accessible from the Galaxy S8’s settings menu – it just means smartphone owners will no longer be able to launch the assistant with the dedicated button.
Unfortunately, Samsung still prohibits smartphone owners from reassigning the Bixby button to a different function, so users who disable Bixby will be left with a button that does nothing on the side of their phone.
That’s a little clunky – but probably better than a button that accidentally causes you to launch Bixby every time you want to change the volume.
Samsung is slowly rolling-out the update at the moment, so keep checking your settings for the latest software.