Samsung’s rolling home robot has been the industry’s longest-running “will it ever actually ship” joke, and I’ll admit I’d mostly given up on it. Now, there’s finally a glimmer of hope.
first unveiled Ballie as a concept at CES 2020. Then, it showed it as a significantly upgraded version four years later. However, the company never confirmed a release date or committed to releasing it at all.
has obtained the first images of Ballie’s companion smartphone app. To me, it looks like a wireframe design draft rather than a finished product, but it sure isn’t something to ignore.
The home screen features a status card showing Ballie’s battery level, current position, and any error messages. Then there’s a prominent “Streaming” button alongside it, which appears to let you view the robot’s camera feed and control it remotely from your phone.
The app also includes room-specific shortcuts, letting you send Ballie patrolling through the house or out to greet guests at the front door. One screenshot shows a setup process where
Ballie maps your home much as a robot vacuum cleaner does
What can Ballie actually do, and is this really happening?
, control smart home devices, project video onto walls (which is its coolest aspect in my opinion), and function as a mobile security camera when you’re away.
It’s worth tempering expectations here, though. This is still just a wireframe, and there’s no confirmation Samsung is building a functional version of this exact app, let alone a functional version of the smart home robot. But after months of total silence, even a design mockup counts as the most concrete sign yet that Ballie hasn’t quietly died in Samsung’s prototype graveyard.
Ballie’s six-year limbo mirrors the fate of plenty of ambitious
concepts that quietly vanish without a formal cancellation. The leak suggests internal development is still active, though Samsung’s continued silence on release timing compels me to take this as a hopeful signal.