Erencan YılmazThe market for personal companion robots is getting hotter, with Samsung’s much-hyped Ballie getting a strong new challenger: an unconfirmed robotic device from Apple. Samsung has publicized its plans to release Ballie this summer, but a report from Bloomberg indicates that Apple is developing two separate smart home products, with its most sophisticated robotic version coming as late as 2027. This gives us an interesting competitive scenario, where Samsung has the advantage of getting a head start but also has a definite competitor to prepare against.
Samsung Ballie: The Mobile Smart Home Hub
Samsung’s Ballie was initially unveiled in 2020 and received a major redesign in 2024. It’s a spherical-shaped robot driven by AI, designed to be a portable smart home hub. Samsung’s official releases and technical documents confirm that Ballie operates on Tizen OS and is equipped with numerous innovative features. A significant feature is its integrated projector, which has the capability to project movies, exercise videos, and even an interactive UI onto walls, floors, or any plane surface.
With a 4K front-facing camera, 2K rear camera, and LiDAR sensor, Ballie is able to autonomously move around a house, dodging obstacles and even keep an eye on pets. For all its technological abilities and a price point that is likely to be in the vicinity of $2,000, it’s said that Samsung is struggling with both how to market the device and how people will respond. An official summer 2025 release is in jeopardy, with a possibility of it being delayed further like the still-unreleased Galaxy Home smart speaker.
Apple’s Ambitious AI-Powered Robot
Apple’s foray into the territory is said to be far more guarded. Under its new smart home initiative, the company is working on two devices, says the Bloomberg report. The less complex of the two is a tabletop touchscreen device due in 2026. The more advanced version, a “robot-like” device, is set to be an iPad on a movable robotic arm and will be available in 2027.
Both products will also have a more sophisticated, AI-driven iteration of Siri with a “cheerful personality” and the capacity to recall details from previous conversations. They will operate on a new operating system internally referred to as “Charismatic,” a multi-user, family-centric OS with an interface built around widgets and voice commands. It’s a different competitive direction, one based on a conversational, stationary helper instead of the mobile, projector-based companion Samsung is proposing.
The smart home companion robot market is set to increase really quickly. Recent reports predict a growth rate of over 17% every year for the next few years. Samsung and Apple are now joining the market, indicating that large technology companies want to dominate. Ballie has beaten them to the market, but whether it will be successful depends on how Samsung handles its market position struggles. Apple is entering later, which has the advantage of being able to learn from what the competition got right and wrong. This could make Apple’s product better and more user-centered despite entering later.
Source: Bloomberg
