Samsung's cute spherical robot is getting smart upgrades thanks to Google's Gemini AI. The furniture robot will start this summer and now has more advanced conversations with you, your family, your friends and guests.
With voice commands, you will be able to provide Ballie with instructions on managing the home environment, including adjusting mood lighting, creating schedules and saying hello to people at the door (although since the robot has no thumbs and is short, it is not entirely clear how it actually opens the door).
According to Samsung, the Gemini integration can also allow Ballie to give you styling advice when you are trying to pick out what clothes to wear in the morning, suggest accessories, or “colorful new shirts” (hopefully if you're ready to use one of them.
Ballie's evolution is largely due to the integration of Google AI tools with Samsung's own language models and the combination of data that robots can collect through their microphones, cameras, and sensors. The two companies have a long history of collaboration and have been working closely over the past few years to integrate Google's latest AI development projects into Samsung's flagship phones, such as the Galaxy S25 series.
“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,” said Yongjae Kim, Samsung's EVP of visual displays in a press release.
Barry's slow launch
When Samsung first announced the Ballie in 2020 at CES in Las Vegas, it was unclear whether the robot would surpass the showroom. I've been introducing robots at CES for nearly a decade and it's safe to say that most of them are just concepts used by tech companies to attract crowds and attention. But not Barry.
Ballie reappeared in CES 2024 and then again at this year’s show, Samsung finally announced the robot will be available in the US and South Korea in the summer of 2025.
Nevertheless, Samsung may cut jobs to convince people that they need a dance party at home, said Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. “Personal robots like Ballie capture headlines and consumer imaginations, but as Amazon launched Astro robots in 2021 discovered, it’s a tricky market.”
People are definitely interested in the idea of home robots, but that doesn't mean they'll buy it. According to Wood, Amazon is believed to have sold only a few hundred Astros. But the latest developments in AI and rumors that Apple plans to enter the robot market in the coming years (and showcase concepts during this period) mean that this highly respected technology is expected to take off and find the way to our homes.
“Samsung will hope it will have a greater success on Ballie and injecting it with the Gemini Assistant will undoubtedly make it more attractive,” Wood said. “But, the question remains: What do you really need when you have a Gemini on your smartphone in your pocket?”
Samsung still announced the price of Ballie, and without this, it's hard to guess exactly how popular a companion robot is. If it is relatively cheap, it is likely to be the first robot that many people welcome into their families, embedding Gemini into our lives and homes.
Watch the following: Samsung has a Barry: AI robots help around the house
