Samsung could finally unleash its answer to the Google Home and Amazon Echo – the Galaxy Home – this week. The South Korean tech giant is holding an Unpacked event in San Francisco later today where it could spill details on the smart speaker’s release date alongside reveals for the Galaxy S20, Galaxy Z Flip and new Galaxy Buds.
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Why do we think Samsung will finally announce a firm release date for the Galaxy Home today? Well, last week Samsung posted an article on its Korean site claiming the Galaxy Home Mini – a smaller brother to the regular Galaxy Home – will launch in its home territory tomorrow, February 12.
Assuming Samsung’s post (that has since been removed) is accurate, it would make a lot of sense for the firm to discuss its plans for the smart speaker ahead of time. Of course, there’s no better way to do that than in a packed auditorium full of the firm’s most loyal fans.
The post on Samsung Korea was originally spotted by Android Police. The outlet translated the text and shed light on a few more details. The Galaxy Home Mini was said to be priced at 99,000 Korean Won (roughly £65), which would make it more expensive than the likes of the Google Home Mini, Google Nest Mini and Amazon Echo Dot.
It’s unclear if Samsung will discuss its release plans for the regular Galaxy Home in addition to the Galaxy Home Mini. The larger smart speaker was not mentioned on the tech firm’s recently pulled Korean post.
As the name suggests, the Galaxy Home Mini is a smaller, more portable, version of the regular Galaxy Home. The device boasts a fabric-style design and is about the size of a doughnut.
There are physical buttons on the top of the smart speaker to adjust the volume and mute its microphone array. Samsung has also included AKG branding on the device to remind owners it’s tuned by its audio subsidiary.
Galaxy Home Mini is capable of delivering 360-degree surround sound thanks to its 5W speakers. It’s currently unclear if the device will be able to automatically adjust its sound output depending on where it’s placed in a room like Apple’s HomePod or the Huawei Sound X.
Samsung’s virtual assistant Bixby comes built-in to the Galaxy Home Mini. The chatty helper has come a long way since its debut in 2018 but still lags behind the Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa in terms of sheer functionality.
That said, Bixby should still be able to answer most day-to-day questions you have and appropriately act on commands.
By far the most exciting part of the Galaxy Home Mini are its four IR remote transmitters that can be used to control appliances that similarly support IR. In essence, this could allow the Galaxy Home Mini to control other devices, even if it doesn’t have an internet connection.
Samsung’s Unpacked event will kick-start at 7pm today. Express.co.uk will be covering proceedings live to let you know if a Galaxy Home release date is discussed!
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