Is anyone home? Samsung’s Galaxy Home smart speaker is a no-show at Unpacked 2019

It’s been about six months since we’ve laid eyes on the Galaxy Home, Samsung’s reply to smart audio system such because the Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Apple HomePod. It now seems we’ll have to attend even longer for one more sighting.

First introduced at Samsung’s 2018 Unpacked occasion final August, the bold, kettle-shaped Galaxy Home speaker hasn’t been see since Mobile World Congress final February.

It appeared like this 12 months’s Samsung Unpacked occasion can be a good time for an replace on the long-awaited Galaxy Home, however no cube. A Samsung rep I spoke to had no details about the speaker.

It’s a worrisome improvement (or lack thereof, I suppose) for the Galaxy Home, which has seen little or no buzz previously few months. Indeed, there was hardly any chatter about it (past the “will we see it?” selection) within the run-up to Unpacked, in stark distinction to the regular stream of leaks concerning the Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+ smartphones.

The Galaxy Home is slated to reach with a built-in SmartThings Hub, good for taking cost of your SmartThings-compatible smart gadgets.

The Bixby-powered speaker will characteristic a high-end audio designed by Harman’s AKG unit (Samsung acquired Harman International in early 2017), together with six drivers and a built-in subwoofer, whereas “sound steering” expertise guarantees to have the speaker direct its sound towards you if you ask it to.

Samsung

Eight built-in microphones assist the Galaxy Home to pinpoint your place within the room, and so they additionally assist to spice up the speaker’s noise-cancelling and voice-recognition capabilities.

At Mobile World Congress again in February, Samsung revealed that the Galaxy Home will assist Bixby Routines, customizable units of actions that the speaker will perform based mostly in your voice instructions or sure preset situations.

For instance, you may set a Bixby Routine (a characteristic that’s presently unique to the Galaxy S10+) that activates the lights and fires up your favourite Spotify playlist if you arrive residence from work, or one other that units a calm lighting temper in your front room if you say “Bixby, I’m ready to meditate.”

Samsung has mentioned the Galaxy Home can even be capable to present climate and film alternatives on appropriate Samsung TVs, in addition to ping a lacking cellphone, press a swimsuit hanging in your Samsung AirDresser smart closet, find nearby restaurants, and answer phone calls.

But whereas Samsung has shared a truthful variety of particulars concerning the Galaxy Home’s options and performance, it’s been skittish about revealing pricing or asserting a launch date.

Samsung officers mentioned again in February that the speaker would hit shops by April. When April got here and went with out the Galaxy Home, the unofficial launch date was pushed again to the “first half of 2019.” After that didn’t occur, Samsung CEO Hyun-suk Kim instructed The Korea Herald that…