Samsung Electronics Co. is developing a voice-activated speaker powered by its virtual assistant Bixby, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The project, internally known as "Vega", has been in development for at least a year, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter. The timing is not clear and many of the speaker's features and other specifications are yet to be decided, several of the sources said.
A Samsung speaker would enter into an already saturated market of voice-activated speakers, with Amazon's Echo leading the race, capturing more than 70 percent of the U.S. market for the speakers, according to market-research firm eMarketer.
Samsung's progress has been slowed by the postponement of a U.S. launch of the English-language version of Bixby, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company previously said that the English-language version of the digital assistant would be ready by spring, but one of the sources added that Samsung has internally expressed doubts about those voice features being ready before the second half of July.
A Samsung spokeswoman told the Journal that the company doesn't comment on rumors and speculation.