Amazon is reportedly planning to launch a smaller and cheaper version of the Echo, its voice-activated smart speaker.

In its current incarnation, the Amazon Echo can play streaming music, take notes, search the web, act as a smart home hub and, of course, place Amazon orders, all controlled through a voice-activated personal assistant called Alexa. It costs $180 (£125), a price that Amazon is apparently looking to undercut with the forthcoming model.

Currently going by the codename Fox, the new Echo model is set to “fit comfortably in the palm of a users hand, like a beer can”, according to the Wall Street Journal. Its identified as a portable device, though this decision is slightly puzzling, given that most of its functionality is available on your average smartphone via Siri or Google Now, and battery power restrictions will mean that it lacks the always listening selling point of the larger home edition.

The WSJs sources werent able to give a date for the devices launch or even announcement, and its worth noting that the original Echo still isnt available outside of the US. For now, its simply a case of watch this space.