We told you earlier this month that the only way to get your hands on the unreleased Samsung Galaxy Home Mini is to pre-order the Galaxy S20 in South Korea, and specifically choose the deal which will grant you the smart speaker for free.
Although initial reports pinned the Galaxy Home Mini launch date to February 12, it looks like Samsung canceled the announcement. Even so, the smart speaker if offered as a gift to customers who pre-order the Galaxy S20 in South Korea, which is a bit unusual.
Now we've learned that Samsung has no plans to sell the Galaxy Home Mini, at least not in the immediate future. TizenHelp reports Samsung reps confirmed that the smart speaker is now available for purchase separately in South Korea:
Hello, I am in charge of your Samsung mobile phone. I’m sorry for the late reply. Thank you for contacting Homi Mini. We will guide you through inquiry. At present, the Galaxy home Mini is not going to be sold separately when the relevant department is confirmed, and it is currently only available as a gift of S20 pre-order purchase benefits.
The screenshot you see embedded in the article has been translated above and suggests that Samsung isn't quite sure about the value of its smart speaker. The fact that the Galaxy Home Mini is now given for free probably means that Samsung wants to know customers' opinions before expanding its availability to other countries.
Unlike other popular smart speakers available on the market that are powered by Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa or Apple Siri, the Galaxy Home Mini runs Samsung's Bixby, which, while not terrible, does things less stellar than at least two digital assistants mentioned.
Samsung hasn't mentioned Bixby at all in the last year, so we wouldn't be surprised if the South Korean company simply wants to get rid of the Galaxy Home Mini units that planned to sell at some point. Perhaps it's not a good time to launch a Bixby-powered smart speaker in a market that's already crowded unless you really have a near-perfect product, which probably isn't the case with the Galaxy Home Mini.
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Cosmin, a tech journalist with a career spanning over a decade, brings a wealth of experience to PhoneArena. His expertise lies in brands like Samsung and Nokia, and he has a keen interest in innovative technologies. After a brief stint in PR, Cosmin returned to tech journalism in 2016, committed to delivering clear and objective news. When he's not writing or appearing as a guest on TV and radio shows, Cosmin enjoys playing RPGs, watching Netflix, and nurturing his passion for history and travel.
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