Samsung said to be working a Bixby-powered smart speaker
Samsung is developing a smart speaker powered by its Bixby voice assistant, according to sources familiar with the matter. However, delays to the full release of the Bixby voice assistant are slowing the project's development. Despite marketing Bixby as a Samsung Galaxy S8 feature, Samsung launched the S8 without support for English voice commands. The phone maker is unlikely to release Bixby voice support in full until the second half of July, according to the sources.

Samsung is working on a smart speaker powered by its new Bixby voice assistant, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The project is said to be codenamed Vega, but little more is known about the device; its features and specifications are apparently yet to be decided, much less a release date.

The Vega project’s development is reportedly being slowed by the progress of Bixby itself. Samsung had to launch the Galaxy S8 without support for English voice commands, despite marketing Bixby as a prominent feature of the phone and giving it a dedicated button. Voice support started to roll out in preview form last month, but there’s clearly still a long way to go.

The WSJ now says Samsung sees the full release of Bixby voice support as “unlikely before the second half of July.”