Until now that is. Alongside the Galaxy Note 9 and Galaxy Watch, in August Samsung revealed the Samsung Galaxy Home, a Bixby smart speaker that aims to bring the company’s virtual assistant into your living room. However, it never said when it was coming out…
When is the Galaxy Home release date?
While Samsung announced the Galaxy Home in August 2018, it didn’t include any details about the smart speaker’s release date. However, it’s long been rumoured that the speaker would release in the second half of 2018, so we expect you’ll be able to buy one before Christmas. Indeed, having recently passed through the FCC the Bixby smart speaker should be imminent.
How much will the Galaxy Home cost in the UK?
However, Bloomberg suggests Samsung will look to undercut Apple by around £100, which means we should be looking at an RRP of around £219/$249, while the WSJ reports the price will be $300.
What are the features and specifications?
From what we’ve seen, the Galaxy Home features similar specs to other rival smart speakers, but stands out in part thanks to its unusual design: a rounded black speaker with a flat top standing on tripod legs. We don’t know yet if Samsung plans to release any additional colour options. The audio chops come from Harman’s AKG audio, with six speakers to drive 360-degree sound and a subwoofer for “deep, rich bass,” with sound processing software to imitate surround sound. Like the HomePod, it’s also capable of analysing the room its in and optimising its sound to suit the environment, or even aiming the sound at a specific spot so that it sounds best from exactly where you’re sitting through a feature called SoundSteer. Naturally, the Bixby virtual assistant is built in and can be activated by voice, with eight microphones driving far-field voice recognition. The speaker can also serve as a smart device hub, controlling all of the other connected tech within your household. We don’t know any more specific specs than that yet though, and will have to wait until November’s Samsung Developer Conference to find out more. Marie is Editor in Chief of Tech Advisor and Macworld. A Journalism graduate from the London College of Printing, she’s worked in tech media for more than 17 years, managing our English language, French and Spanish consumer editorial teams and leading on content strategy through Foundry’s transition from print, to digital, to online - and beyond.
