Bixby could land on UK Samsung Galaxy S8 handsets very soon

Samsung rolled out its the voice assistant element of Bixby in the US just last week, and for those who own Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus handsets in the UK you may not have much longer to wait to have the same functionality after the South Korean firm sent out a teasing newsletter.

Titled "Welcome Bixby, your own personal assistant" the email from Samsung UK appears to suggest than the assistant's voice control is just around the corner for British users.

There's no mention of when the assistant's voice abilities will land on phones, or even an acknowledgement it isn't yet available - but if Samsung is pushing out details on the assistant it's not a big jump to assume that there's a change coming to the service.

The email goes on to explain that Bixby will allow you to "interact with your Galaxy S8 in a totally new way" and clicking the "Discover More" button takes you to Samsung's main explainer page for its intelligent assistant.

Both the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus boast dedicated Bixby buttons, giving you quick access currently to the Bixby Home panel which doesn't offer up the personal voice assistant the final incarnation of the system promises.

Samsung surprised some when it launched its new flagship devices earlier this year without the full version of Bixby - one of the key features for the handsets - with a slow rollout around the world chosen instead.

We expect Bixby, when it's fully up to speed, to offer stiff competition to Apple's Siri, Google Now and Amazon's Alexa - but for now we'll patiently wait, our finger hovering over the 'software update' button.

We have contacted Samsung for comment on the newsletter, and we'll update this article when we get a response.