Samsung has confirmed that it will start shipping its first Bixby-powered smart speaker later this year. CEO Hyunsuk Kim has apparently told Bloomberg that the Galaxy Home Mini will be available to buy in "early 2020."
Hopefully, the company will stick to its promise and will not delay the launch of the device. Samsung has been struggling to launch its own range of smart speakers, ever since it first showcased the Galaxy Home. Powered by the company’s own smart assistant Bixby, we first saw the Galaxy Home during the launch of the Galaxy Note 9 in 2018. The smart speaker failed to reach markets after numerous delays, and eventually, the company announced a smaller version of the original, called the Galaxy Home Mini.
Notably, the company hasn’t decided what they will do with the original, larger Galaxy Home smart speaker. It seems that the company’s plans to evolve Bixby have changed, and the assistant is now being tuned to control products under Samsung’s ecosystem. For instance, you could ask Bixby to turn on your air conditioner before you reach home. According to a report, Samsung will not release any Bixby APIs during the launch to allow third-party developers to make their products work with the Galaxy Home Mini.
We highly doubt that the smart speaker will make its way to India as Google and Amazon have dominated the market, so much so, that even Apple never brought its HomePod to the country.
