How to completely reconfigure the Samsung Galaxy S8's new Bixby button

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The Samsung Galaxy S8 isn’t even out yet, but technology enthusiasts have already worked out how to completely repurpose one of its main features.

The recently launched handset is extremely well-designed, making every other flagship that’s come before it look outdated.

As well as the S8’s stunning looks though, Samsung is hoping to lure consumers in with Bixby, a new virtual assistant that, in the South Korean firm’s eyes, has the potential to change the way users interact with their devices.

Samsung has even equipped the S8 with a dedicated Bixby button, a move designed to help establish the virtual assistant as one of the phone's core features.

However, ahead of its 28 April release, it’s emerged that the handset’s Bixby key can be reconfigured to launch any other app, such as the camera or Bixby rival Google Assistant.

The process, which has been detailed by XDA-Developers, isn’t entirely straightforward but doesn’t take a great deal of time either.

It relies on a free app called All in one Gestures, which you can use to modify your phone’s hard keys.

YouTuber Dylan Bertwell this week posted a clip of a Samsung Galaxy S8 with its Bixby button reconfigured to launch Google Now.

Bixby will only be available in Korean and US English and only work with a handful of apps at launch, but Samsung says it will support almost every task the apps are capable of performing, entirely through spoken commands.

The company has also revealed plans to make all of its internet-connected appliances Bixby-compatible.