Bad news for Apple customers hoping to purchase a HomePod before the end of the year. Apple has released a statement saying it has pushed the HomePod’s release target into early 2018. HomePod was originally unveiled back at WWDC in June as a preview ahead of a promised December release.
“We can’t wait for people to experience HomePod, Apple’s breakthrough wireless speaker for the home, but we need a little more time before it’s ready for our customers. We’ll start shipping in the US, UK, and Australia in early 2018.”
Moving the goal post from December to early 2018 could mean HomePod will ship in January at the soonest but possibly later. The original Apple Watch, for example, was promised in early 2015, but didn’t ship until April of that year. Apple similarly delayed the release of AirPods a year ago before releasing the widely praised wireless earbuds. Apple is still set to release the iMac Pro before the end of the year.
HomePod is the first Apple-designed music speaker since the iPod Hi-Fi (which shipped in 2007 and was discontinued a year later). HomePod plays music wirelessly over Wi-Fi directly from Apple Music or over AirPlay from nearby iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs. HomePod has Siri built-in for voice control using a six microphone array which makes it a smart speaker.
Apple is heavily pushing the audio quality of HomePod for music playback as something that distinguishes it from other smart speakers:
You can learn more about HomePod here.
