I attended IFA in Berlin last week, and had an absolute blast getting to witness first-hand the incredible new next-generation products and innovations from leading tech brands. Aside from an abundance of lawnmowers and new AI laptops, including the world's first Auto Twist laptop concept from Lenovo, the IFA showcases that had me most in awe were from Samsung and Hisense.
In particular, the yellow Samsung Ballie robot and Hisense’s new Assistant robot (named Harley) stole my heart from sheer cuteness and performance. I've tested and reviewed a ton of smart home robots in recent years, including advanced pet cameras for our sister site, Digital Camera World, but these IFA demonstrations were truly futuristic. I also got a glimpse of LG's latest Self-Driving AI Home Hub robot at IFA, but missed out on a live demonstration.
Despite being one of the best and most exciting products at IFA (at least in my opinion) Ballie wasn't mentioned at all, and didn't make the cut during Samsung's official IFA press conference, but I got to see an in-person demonstration of this robot after the event. Take a look at the video below recorded at IFA to see what the Samsung Ballie is capable of, and catch a glimpse of the dancing robot show from Hisense too.
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Its yellow coating makes it appear almost like a softball (it was originally the size of a small tennis ball when Samsung first debuted it back at CES in 2020) but this upgraded design is much larger than we've seen before (about the size of a bowling ball) and it has a built-in projector too. This allows Ballie to follow you around the home, interact with your other smart home devices, and respond to your queries by projecting things onto the floor, wall, or ceiling, depending on how far away it is positioned.
While there's no indication yet on how much the Samsung Ballie will cost (or if it's being released to the public at all), it was still an amazing demo to witness and got me thinking about its potential as an AI companion. As for the Hisense Harley, this smart home robot will be launched within the next 12 months, according to Hisense, and what we saw at IFA was only a second-generation prototype.
Like a levelled-up version of Alexa, robotics are set to be the future of smart home electronics, and AI could soon infiltrate your entire household (if you let it) with hundreds of smart appliances showcased at IFA including eco-friendly laundry machines, AI refrigerators, ovens that can monitor your cooking, and even pool cleaning robots. We'll never have to lift a finger ever again.
If you're interested in AI smart home appliances, take a look at these deals below. Or for something a bit smaller, discover the trend of AI desk pets.
This article is part of our Next Gen Creative Tech week.
