14 DAY TRIAL // If you had hoped of getting your hands on Apple's upcoming HomePod smart speaker this holiday season, we have some bad news for you today as the company just delayed its release.
According to a report from CNBC, it would appear that Apple told them they need more time to develop the HomePod, the company's first smart speaker powered by Siri, an intelligent personal assistant used in the iOS, macOS, and watchOS operating system.
Apple says that it won't be able to release the HomePod next month as it initially promised when the company unveiled the smart speaker this summer during the WWDC 2017 developer conference. Apple now plans to launch the HomePod early next year.
"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," reads Apple's statement.
HomePod will cost $349 USD in the US
Those of you eager to get your hands on the HomePod smart speaker from Apple need to arm yourselves with a lot of patience, as Apple didn't say when exactly it'll launch the device, not to mention that HomePod will first be available to customers in the US, UK, and Australia.
Early next year could mean Q1 2018, so we might be able to buy the HomePod in spring if we're lucky. The device will cost $349 USD and brings pretty much the same features as Amazon's Echo or Google Home smart speakers, and probably others, but we bet Apple wants to compete with Amazon and Google first.
To see what HomePod can do, we recommend visiting the dedicated web page put together by Apple for its upcoming smart speaker, which dubs as a HomeKit hub and a personal assistant powered by Siri. HomePod features Apple-engineered high-fidelity audio technology and other innovations in the field.