Galaxy Note 10: Samsung ignores two key areas with new phones

Neither the Bixby smart assistant nor virtual reality made an appearance at Samsung's latest tech showcase

DJ Koh, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics, presents the Galaxy Note 10 smartphone during a launch event at Barclays Center on 7 August, 2019 in New York (Getty Images)

Samsung unveiled the "world's most powerful" smartphones in New York this week, in the form of the Galaxy Note 10 and the Note 10+, alongside its vision for the future of personal electronics.

Company CEO DJ Koh stressed the value of 5G, augmented reality and even high-tech styluses in his presentation, summed up by the tagline: "Experience Innovation". But there were two technologies that were notably absent from the Unpacked event.

Neither Samsung's virtual assistant Bixby nor VR compatibility for the Note 10 received a single mention during the nearly two-hour tech showcase. Both have been heavily hyped in recent years, but their quiet omission suggests they may no longer be central to Samsung's grander ambitions.

Bixby has not been forgotten entirely, with both the Note 10 and Note 10+ supporting the virtual assistant. But Samsung's answer to Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa was not called upon or showed off during any of the product demos.

At the same venue in 2018, Samsung unveiled the Bixby-supported Galaxy Home, which was designed to offer an alternative to other smart speakers like the Amazon Echo, Apple HomePod and Google Home. Not only has the device failed to launch in the 12 months that have since elapsed, Samsung also failed to provide any update on the beleaguered speaker.

There was a heavy focus on augmented reality, with numerous demonstrations of how the impressive camera rig on the Note 10 devices could make use of artificial intelligence to create all sorts of impressive effects.

But at no point did Samsung bring out the Gear VR virtual reality headset that has been such a staple of these shows in recent years.

All flagship smartphones built by Samsung since 2015 have supported Gear VR, which requires the phones to be placed in the headset for the wearer to experience virtual reality.

Samsung Electronics CEO DJ Koh presented Samsung's vision for the future at the Unpacked event in Brooklyn, New York (Samsung)

Following the presentation, tech analyst Anshel Sag revealed that he had received confirmation from Samsung that no version of the Note 10 is compatible with Gear VR.

It was also spotted that the Gear VR no longer appears to be on sale on Samsung's website. Speculation now turns to whether Samsung is planning a stand-alone VR headset or is forgetting the technology altogether.