Samsung's first home assistant AI robot, Ballie, was showcased early last year, but it hasn't launched yet. The company has now announced its launch timeframe and revealed that it features Google's Gemini AI assistant for a more personal and engaging experience.
Samsung Ballie launching in USA and South Korea soon
Ballie will be launched in South Korea and the USA in the summer of 2025. So, you can expect it be available for purchase anywhere from June to August of this year. While the company hasn't revealed its exact launch date and pricing yet, it has announced that it will feature Google's Gemini AI assistant.
Thanks to Gemini, Ballie can have deep and engaging conversations with you. It can fetch relevant information from the web, help you control smart home devices, greet people at your door, and manage your calendars and reminders, among other things.
It can use Gemini's multimodal AI capabilities in combination with Samsung's language models to understand a variety of data, including real-time audio, sensor data, video, and voice to understand your environment and adapt to it.
It can suggest you what to wear. If you ask it, “Hey Ballie, how do I look?“, Ballie will respond with styling suggestions, such as trying a new accessory or changing the color of your shirt to better match with your pants. It can even suggest tips for a healthier lifestyle and answer your health related questions. For example, if you tell it, “Ballie, I am feeling tired,” it will suggest actions that can improve your energy levels.
It was revealed last year that Ballie runs the Tizen OS, but it isn't clear if Samsung has changed it now or if it is making Gemini work on Tizen. Ballie was first showcased five years ago, but it looked different (like a BB8) back then. Last year, Samsung reintroduced it with a new design.
Yongjae Kim, Executive VP of Samsung's Visual Display Business, said, “Through this partnership, Samsung and Google Cloud are redefining the role of AI in the home. By pairing Gemini’s powerful multimodal reasoning with Samsung’s AI capabilities in Ballie, we’re leveraging the power of open collaboration to unlock a new era of personalized AI companion—one that moves with users, anticipates their needs, and interacts in more dynamic and meaningful ways than ever before.“
Samsung has been working with Google more closely than earlier. The Galaxy S24 was among the first phones to get access to Gemini. Earlier this year, the Galaxy S25 series was launched with Gemini as its default AI assistant. With its partnership for Ballie, Google is showcasing how it is at the forefront of the AI assistant technology.
