Samsung maybe working on affordable Bixby smart speaker to take on Amazon Echo

The Galaxy Home, Samsung’s vase-like smart speaker with three stout metal legs, does not have a release date yet. Even though it was announced in August, alongside the Galaxy Note 9, the Galaxy Home is still coming soon at a still undisclosed price tag. One thing is clear though, the Galaxy Home is not going to be a cheap product something like say the Apple HomePod or even the Google Home Max. Which means, it won’t cater to everybody. 

If you’ve been closely following Samsung however, you’d know the company doesn’t want to restrict itself to be a luxury brand alone. Rather, it wants to offer technology solutions for everybody, which is also probably why it has decided to introduce premium innovations to its mid-tier Galaxy A phones (and there are reports that Samsung is looking to introduce series like the Galaxy M for markets like India) something which was previously reserved for its high-end Galaxy S and Galaxy Note devices. Samsung may have something similar planned for the smart home speaker segment as well. 

According to a new Sammobile report, Samsung is working on an affordable – possibly entry-level – smart speaker, a mini Galaxy Home if you may, that would compete with the likes of the Amazon Echo and the Google Home and Google Home Mini. The Galaxy Home mini (or whatever Samsung decides to call it) reportedly has the model number SM-V310, whereas the Galaxy Home is called SM-V510: this also suggests that Samsung may be working on a whole batch of smart speakers or may work on them in the days to come. 

The Galaxy Home mini will come in black, according to the report, and will pack fewer features in comparison to the original Galaxy Home. It will still be powered by Samsung’s Bixby (2.0) virtual assistant, that is increasingly becoming part of most Samsung ecosystem devices. 

The Galaxy Home is also powered by Bixby but, as mentioned earlier, it is a more premium product meant to “combine amazing sound and elegant design.” It comes with six built-in speakers and a subwoofer to deliver surround sound-style audio, and eight far-field microphones for detecting voice input. The Galaxy Home mini is expected to come with more toned down specs to accommodate its relatively more affordable price tag.        

Samsung is yet to confirm the existence of such a device but with CES 2019 just around the corner, the company may spring in a surprise or two at the annual trade show in Las Vegas.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy M-series India Launch Set For January 2019, Infinity-V Display On Cards