Samsung’s next big thing likely won’t be a hit

Samsung recently announced that it will be entering the emerging industry of smart home robots with Gemini-powered Ballie. While the concept is cool, industry insider Mark Gurman points out in his newsletter Power On that the device will likely not be a hit, mostly because Samsung still hasn’t revealed the price.

Ballie is a small robot that can do everything your smart home assistants like Alexa and Google can and more. Samsung is once again partnering with Google — like it has done for Project Moohan — to power Ballie with the latter’s flagship AI model Gemini.

This will allow Ballie to intelligently patrol the home to understand what is happening and send you alerts accordingly. It can also control the lights around your house and feed your pets: likely via a smart food dispenser. Lastly Ballie comes equipped with a projector for you to use for entertainment or work purposes.

However, as Samsung still hasn’t revealed how much Ballie will cost, it is very likely that the company’s first smart home robot will be quite expensive. First generation products are often pricier and if Ballie is the same then it may not sell that well. I doubt many people desperately want a rolling projector that costs them a pretty penny.

But the important thing is that Samsung and Google are getting a foot in the door of an industry that seems to be ready to burst.