Xperia Hello!: Sony’s tabletop robot that knew the family’s faces and spoke first
Xperia Hello! is a tabletop communication robot that Sony Mobile released in Japan in 2017. Production has ended, and according to a dealer notice its cloud functions ended in March 2023.
Timeline
- 2016.02Concept shownXperia Agent, MWC
- 2017.11Launch¥149,880, Japan
- 2022.07End noticeRetailer blog
- 2023.03Service endedCloud features; production over
Not a smart speaker but a member of the family
According to a PHILE WEB interview, Xperia Hello! was first shown as the concept “Xperia Agent” at MWC in Barcelona in February 2016. In October 2017 Sony Mobile announced it as the third Xperia Smart Product, after Xperia Ear and Xperia Touch. Its theme was “a member of the family,” and Sony presented it as a communication robot rather than an AI speaker. It sits on a table with no wheels or legs, about 216 mm tall and 1,085 g. Its body turned, its head and neck moved, and it recognised up to ten family members and spoke to them first. It went on sale in Japan on 18 November 2017 at 149,880 yen before tax at the Sony Store.
Production ended, then the cloud functions
The robot sent and received LINE and Skype messages and video calls, and captured the room in 360° and sent it to a smartphone. It read out news and weather and controlled BRAVIA TVs by voice. In June 2018 Sony Mobile ran a monitor campaign lending it free for about two months to 25 families living apart. In July 2018 its street price was about 127,000 yen. In July 2022 a Sony Store dealer blog said the cloud functions behind Xperia Hello!’s human-like behaviour would end in March 2023, along with new downloads of its dedicated apps. Sony’s product page now says only that production has ended, with no date.
A review that advised against general use
On launch day, the Weekly ASCII writer Yukoba noted that the robot’s movements, such as turning, lighting up around its neck and moving its head, could only be triggered from its dedicated app. The writer did not recommend using it as a general-purpose device the way one might use the Xperia Touch projector from the same product line.
The family features lived on a server
Xperia Hello! promised a family robot that recognised faces and spoke first. But the functions behind its human-like behaviour ran in the cloud, and according to the dealer notice they ended in March 2023. It is worth comparing with Jibo, which lost its features when its servers shut down.
Does this robot’s personality live in the device or on the company’s servers?
What we haven’t confirmed
- When sales and production ended
- Units sold
- What the robot can still do after the cloud functions ended
- The original text of Sony’s July 2022 notice (confirmed only through a dealer blog)
Sources
- PHILE WEB, Sony Mobile’s communication robot Xperia Hello! recognises people and talks on its own (Japanese), 17 October 2017
- PC Watch, Sony Mobile releases the tabletop communication robot Xperia Hello! (Japanese), 17 October 2017
- Kakaku.com Magazine, Sony Mobile’s small communication robot Xperia Hello! (Japanese), 17 October 2017
- Weekly ASCII, Android robot Xperia Hello! to go on sale on 18 November (Japanese), 17 October 2017
- PHILE WEB, interview on Xperia Hello! aiming beyond smart speakers (Japanese), 31 October 2017
- Voicebot.ai, “Sony’s Xperia Hello Robot Launches in Japan”
- K-tai Watch, Sony Mobile monitor campaign for Xperia Hello! (Japanese), 12 June 2018
- Weekly ASCII, Xperia Hello! hands-on review, setup and benchmarks (Japanese), 9 July 2018
- Tecstaff, notice of partial service end for Xperia Hello, Xperia Touch and Xperia Ear Duo (Japanese), 28 July 2022 (secondary, Sony Store dealer blog)
- Sony, Xperia Hello! (G1209) product page (Japanese, company material)
- Sony, Xperia Hello! (G1209) main specifications (Japanese, company material)
- Sony, Xperia Hello! video feature (Japanese, company material)