There’s still no solid word on the fate of Samsung’s long-awaited Galaxy Home, but it looks like Samsung is moving ahead with a smaller version of the Bixby-powered smart speaker.
Android Central spotted a signup page for the Galaxy Home Mini beta on Samsung’s South Korean website, with the actual beta program slated to begin next month and conclude in early October.
Featured prominently on the signup page is a picture (shown above) of the spherical Galaxy Home Mini, which looks like a smaller version of the kettle-shaped Galaxy Home minus its three spindly legs.
Samsung has yet to officially announce the Galaxy Home Mini, although an “AI speaker” that looks suspiciously similar to this one appeared in an FCC filing back in May.
Michael Simon/IDG
Samsung’s Bixby-powered answer to Apple’s HomePod, the Galaxy Home speaker hasn’t been seen since February, and it was notably absent during Samsung’s Unpacked event in early August.
According to the (translated) Galaxy Home Mini beta signup on Samsung’s site, the new, pint-sized version of the Galaxy Home will come with on-board Bixby (Samsung’s voice assistant) and double as a SmartThings hub, just like its bigger sibling.
The Galaxy Home Mini will also “rich sound” courtesy of AKG audio technology, the site says.
While Samsung positioned the larger Galaxy Home as a competitor to Apple’s HomePod, the Galaxy Home Mini looks like it would take on smaller, more inexpensive smart speakers like the Amazon Echo Dot and the Google Home Mini.
News of the Galaxy Home Mini beta comes nearly a month after Samsung failed to mention the Galaxy Home at its Unpacked 2019 event in New York City.
Samsung later said it is “continuing to refine and enhance” the speaker, which last made an appearance at Mobile World Congress in February.
First announced at last year’s Unpacked event, the larger Galaxy Home is (also) powered by Bixby and acts as a SmartThings hub. The speaker is also slated to arrive with six drivers, a subwoofer, and “sound steering” technology that’s supposed to let the speaker direct its sound toward you on command.
Samsung never announced a solid release date or pricing for the Galaxy Home, although several soft release dates have come and gone.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. You can follow Ben on Twitter.