With the 2017 holiday season almost upon us, it looks like Apple’s HomePod won’t be under anyone’s Christmas tree this year. In a statement shared with 9to5Mac, the company confirmed this bit of said news. Here’s what it read:
“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.”
The good news is that Apple will deliver the new speaker in early 2018 — though, when that is, is anyone’s guess. It could ship as early as January, or in early Spring. Apple is being quiet on the reasoning for the delay however. There could be a number of reasons as to why the delay exists. Apple has pushed the debut of its new devices before with the Cupertino company having previously delayed both the Apple Watch and AirPods.
Apple also plans on releasing the new iMac Pro before the end of the year. There hasn’t been any statements regarding delays on it, though. Google and Amazon have both recently stepped up their wireless speaker games and a delay by Apple can only help them out. Amazon recently announced upgraded Echo devices, and Google unveiled the new Home Mini back in October when it announced the Pixel 2. However, Apple has toted the HomePod as having top-notch audio quality but unfortunately we’ll have to wait longer to see just how top-notch.
The new speaker comes with a $349USD price tag when it becomes available early next year. Amazon and Google offer variants of their smart speakers for a lot lower. However, if you’re an Apple junkie, then you’ll just have a wait a bit longer to get your hands on this speaker. It looks like patience is something the Cupertino company is betting on.
Are you buying a HomePod when they become available? Let us know in the comments below, or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
[button link=”https://9to5mac.com/2017/11/17/homepad-delay/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: 9to5Mac[/button]
