Tech companies love rolling a robot out onstage. These systems serve as shorthand for consumer electronics brands branching out into a more bleeding-edge category. On occasion we get an Amazon Astro or Sony Aibo that actually hit the market in some form. More often than not, however, the robots only exist in the land of press conferences.
Samsung’s Ballie has been kicking around the CES circuit for half a decade now. The home robot got some upgrades at CES 2024, including a projector. Ultimately, however, it didn’t appear to roll any closer to market.
Fast-forward to CES 2025, and we now have a very rough timeline for launch. Samsung this week confirmed that the robot is set to hit the market at some point in the next six months. It still has a rough path ahead, however. According to Samsung, “Ballie acts as a personal home assistant, autonomously driving around the home to complete various tasks.”
Beyond the vacuum, home robots have struggled to make any headway. Large companies have abandoned projects and smaller startups have shuttered. There are simply not enough features to justify such high price tags.
Will Ballie be any different? Probably not. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if the anthropomorphic ball got at least a little traction in Samsung’s native South Korea. The U.S. and the rest of the world are another question altogether. Samsung may reveal more information on pricing and availability at its press conference Monday at 2 p.m. PT.
