Samsung is showing off a Galaxy Home Mini speaker at its developers conference, more than a year after it first showcased the yet-to-be released, full-sized Galaxy Home.
While the firm didn’t make any announcements during the SDC 2019 keynote, it was spotted on show during the conference, in California, by specialist site SamMobile.
The last we heard of the Galaxy Home Mini, Samsung had announced a beta testing programme in South Korea in late August, but there’s been no word on whether the company plans to launch the device in western territory.
The potential Amazon Echo Dot rival device looks a little different from the last time we saw it depicted in leaked imagery. The plastic casing has been replaced by a fabric-covered offering. The overall shape appears to be the same, as does the top-loaded control panel and AKG logo.
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The caption accompanying the speaker calls it an “AI Interface for Smart Home Everywhere,” making clear the focus will be on its SmartThings ecosystem. The company had also previously announced a partnership with Spotify to provide the music experience.
Image credit SamMobile
Unfortunately, Samsung wasn’t volunteering anyone to talk about the Bixby-powered personal speaker, or its missing-in-action larger counterpart, during SDC. Samsung’s website still lists the Galaxy Home device as “coming soon” on its website, but offers no reference to a price or potential release date.
In August, the company said: “We’re continuing to refine and enhance the Galaxy Home prior to launch, and look forward to sharing more with Galaxy fans soon.”
The next opportunity for Samsung to get the device to market would seem to be alongside the launch of the Galaxy S11 in early 2020. Whether the Home Mini will launch alongside it remains to be seen.
Since Samsung first unveiled the original Galaxy Home speaker in August 2018, Google and Amazon have both dramatically overhauled and built upon their smart speaker offering.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
