What you need to know
- A report from South Korea claims Samsung is delaying Ballie as it expresses "caution" about the AI home companion and its "place" in the home.
- Additionally, the report expressed that there are supposed concerns about Ballie's (alleged) high price point and whether or not consumers will engage with it due to that and its features.
- Ballie was first shown off by Samsung five years ago during CES 2020, introduced as part of its human-centric robot vision for homes.
- The company's vice chairman, Han Jong-hee, teased that Ballie would see a U.S. and South Korea launch in the first half of 2025, but that didn't happen.
A new report casts a dark cloud over Samsung's anticipated home AI companion, Ballie.
According to The Korea Times, Samsung has seemingly delayed its original plans to launch Ballie (via 9to5Google). The publication expands on this, citing an alleged industry official who states, "Technological advancement does not necessarily guarantee sales, so the company seems to be taking a careful approach in positioning Ballie."
Supposedly, Samsung has become "cautious" about Ballie, opting to take more time to reconsider its "defining" role within a smart home. The publication highlights Ballie's features, like its powerful chips, high-res projector, and sensors to assist with daily home life. With all of this, there's speculation that Ballie could run up the cost to ~$2,000.
It seems that there's concern that Ballie isn't going to offer enough to consumers to warrant such a high (speculated) price point. On top of that, there are questions about whether or not its features will offer anything new and interesting that consumers can't get from their phone or other smart home devices.
The publication states that there are still many questions left unanswered about Ballie and its services in a home. It adds that Samsung itself has not officially stated the cause for its AI companion's delay.
It's been five years...
Let's take a moment to remember that Samsung first showed off Ballie five years ago during CES 2020. To sum it up, Ballie was positioned as a new Samsung robot companion for homes. Packaged inside a cute little yellow ball on wheels, Ballie was teased to be Samsung's human-centric vision toward robots. Its tagline about Ballie said that it "understands you, supports you, and reacts to your needs" in an early promo run.
Ballie's early showing even detailed its built-in camera, which would let homeowners tap into their app and see their home through the AI's "eye."
Fast forward to 2025 (January, specifically), and we're met with a surprising announcement from Samsung's vice chairman, Han Jong-hee. Han stated Ballie was gearing up for a U.S. and South Korean launch this year during its "first half." However, that didn't come to pass. Samsung even announced its huge Google Cloud partnership, which brings Gemini to Ballie.
The Korean OEM highlighted multimodal reasoning capabilities for Ballie, thanks to Gemini. Essentially, this software would make Ballie more "proactive" for whatever home task it's been given. Ballie can also help users pick out something to wear (fashion), health and wellness inquiries, and much more.
Considering we've just moved past the first half of 2025, it seems we are waiting for Ballie once again.
