Samsung Galaxy Home speaker: will it ever be released?

(Image credit: Samsung)

Remember the Samsung Galaxy Home speaker? It's missed yet another release date, leaving the world wondering when exactly we will see the the company's first Bixby-powered smart speaker.

Back in June, Kim Hyun-suk, one of Samsung's co-CEOs and the President of the Consumer Electronics division, told the Korea Herald, that the company is aiming for a "mid-second half of the year" launch.

If that sounds confusing, "other Samsung executives" told the Herald to "expect a Q3 rollout", according to Phone Arena.

[Update: The Samsung Develop Conference is coming up on October 29 - 30 – could we see the Galaxy Home speaker then? Stay tuned for what could finally be the release of this elusive smart speaker.]

Now that Samsung's third financial quarter has come and gone, there's still no sign of the Galaxy Home speaker – and it's not the first time Samsung has missed the deadline with this particular device.

samsung smart speaker

(Image credit: Samsung)

A 2020 release?

The Samsung Galaxy Home was initially slated for an April 2019 release, but as the month came and went, it became clear that the spaceship-looking rival to the Amazon EchoApple HomePod and Google Home wouldn't be landing anytime soon.

Even if the Galaxy Home does arrive in the next few months, we still don't know which territories it will be available in. It was rumored last year that the Bixby-controlled smart speaker would come to "China, Korea, and the US ahead of other markets", but it's unclear whether Samsung will stick to that rollout strategy.

We got a brief first look at the speaker in August 2018, which sports a rather odd shape - like the bulb of a flower resting on three silver pegs that act as a stand. The possibility we'll get to test it fully before the end of the year is looking less and less likely.  

Via The Verge

Olivia Tambini

Olivia was previously TechRadar's Senior Editor - Home Entertainment, covering everything from headphones to TVs. Based in London, she's a popular music graduate who worked in the music industry before finding her calling in journalism. She's previously been interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diversity in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, What to Watch, Top Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. Olivia now has a career in PR.