This is supposedly the second but the first one never took off.
Samsung, the world’s biggest home appliance maker, is set to make its first launch for a speaker.
The market roll-out is reportedly slated on Feb. 12 for its Galaxy Home Mini, the second Galaxy speaker it has unveiled to the public as it skips the release of the much-delayed Galaxy Home Speaker.
The price is pegged at 99,000 Korean Won or roughly $83, lower than other rivals’ speakers. There remains no word as to its availability in other markets aside from South Korea.
Galaxy Home Mini’s Competitive Edge
Most tech companies, even giants such as Amazon, Google, and Apple, have launched their own speakers years back. While Samsung is obviously very late to the party, it is trying to win the hearts of audiophiles with at least one feature not available in any of its rivals: an infrared (IR) blaster function.
The challenge for Samsung now is getting consumers to leave Google Nest Home or Amazon Alexa, virtual assistants which have dominated the smart speaker market, and move to its camp all for the IR function.
An IR function allows users to control any appliance, even old ones that can’t be connected to the Internet or router so long as it is within sight of the speaker’s IR blaster.
However, the Galaxy Home Mini is already installed with almost all features expected from a modern Samsung speaker: AKG speakers, smart home connectivity, and Bixby voice assistant. The challenge for Samsung now is getting consumers to leave Google Nest Home or Amazon Alexa, virtual assistants which have dominated the smart speaker market, and move to its camp all for the IR function.
Did Samsung Abandon the Galaxy Home?
The Galaxy Home Mini is supposed to be the mini version of the Galaxy Home whose existence was confirmed as early as August 2018 but never really launched.
The full-sized, cauldron-shaped smart speaker has since missed target release schedules, one after another. During the gap, however, Samsung quietly announced the Galaxy Home Mini through a public beta test in South Korea but without setting a schedule for its market release.
But if Samsung successfully makes its foray into home speakers on schedule, hopes for the mother Galaxy speaker to see the light of day may be revived.
Samsung had told The Verge back in August 2019 that it was “continuing to refine and enhance the Galaxy Home prior to launch” — a process that seems to have paid off, given that Samsung is apparently close to releasing at least one of its Galaxy Home products.
While the first-generation Galaxy Home had been left in limbo as Samsung is even having second thoughts on putting it out on the market, the attention has been focused on the cheaper and smaller Galaxy Home Mini.
But if Samsung successfully makes its foray into home speakers on schedule, hopes for the mother Galaxy speaker to see the light of day may be revived.