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Galaxy Home a no-show -- but it's not dead yet

We didn't see the cauldron-shaped Galaxy Home at the Aug. 7 Unpacked event, but Samsung says its smart speaker is still on the way.

Megan Wollerton Former Senior Writer/Editor
2 min read
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Samsung's Galaxy Home speaker didn't make an appearance at Unpacked 2019.

Juan Garzon/CNET

Today Samsung announced a bunch of Galaxy products at its annual Unpacked event. The Galaxy Note 10 and 10 Plus! The Galaxy Book S! The Galaxy Home... oh, wait, no. That last one didn't happen. We've been waiting a year for the Galaxy Home, only to have Unpacked 2019 conclude without even a mention of the promised Bixby-powered smart speaker

First teased at Unpacked 2018, the Galaxy Home is supposed to be Samsung's answer to the Amazon Echo, the Google Home and the Apple HomePod. But instead of an AlexaGoogle Assistant or Siri voice assistant, Samsung's runs on Bixby

Bixby, Samsung's voice assistant, answers to the wake words, "Hey, Bixby." Bixby isn't exclusive to the Galaxy Home. It also lives in select Samsung mobile devices, Family Hub fridges and Samsung Smart TVs.

Unfortunately, we didn't see long-awaited Samsung Galaxy Home today, but it sounds like the Bixby speaker is still on the way. "We're continuing to refine and enhance the Galaxy Home prior to launch, and look forward to sharing more with Galaxy fans soon," a Samsung representative told CNET over email. 

The Galaxy Home isn't Samsung's first foray into the smart home. Samsung purchased smart-home startup SmartThings in 2014. SmartThings now consists of a hub and multiple accessories, from a SmartThings security camera and a SmartThings Wi-Fi router to a SmartThings router with a built-in SmartThings hub. SmartThings also integrates with a variety of third-party devices.

I guess we'll have to wait a bit longer for the Galaxy Home. In the meantime, read about everything we saw at Samsung Unpacked 2019.

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Unpacked 2019 event

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Watch this: Galaxy Note and Note 10 Plus are here to wow you