You will be seeing reports on different publications today about a trademark listing from Samsung potentially confirming the name of its much awaited Bixby-powered speaker. Samsung has filed to trademark the moniker “Magbee” in the United States and Europe.
The moniker is apparently shorthand for magnetic beetle which doesn't really make a lot of sense with respect to a smart speaker. Dig deeper into these listings and it becomes clear that it's far from certain that this is what Samsung's smart speaker will be called or when it's going to be released.
Samsung's Bixby speaker
Companies have a habit of trademarking names that they might use in the future. Even if they don't have plans of ever using a particular name they just trademark it just in case something changes down the line.
That's likely the case with this listing as well. The description provided in the filing mentions that this brand many be used for a variety of products. The list includes LED TVs, digital door locks, portable computers, set-top boxes and indeed “audio speakers.”
The fact remains, though, that the listing doesn't confirm that Samsung's Bixby speaker will be called Magbee. It's pertinent to mention here that the Magbee brand and the associated beetle logo were first spotted in the trademark listings back in December 2017. Samsung has filed the paperwork again in other markets which is why you're now seeing reports about Magbee.
Yes, there's no doubt that Samsung is working on a Bixby-powered smart speaker. We have exclusively confirmed some of the features that it's likely going to bring as well. The thing with these filings is that they're never 100 percent accurate.
We often pick up on interesting bits of information in trademark and regulatory filings but there's always the chance that the information may not be completely relevant to the product that the rumor mill associates it with. This appears to be the case with this Magbee filing as well.
