Apple delays the release of HomePod until 2018

Apple has postponed the release of its HomePod speaker until 2018. The reason behind the delay is that the company needs more time to work on the speaker which is set to compete with Amazon's Alexa-enabled devices and Google Home as a smart home and music hub.

In a statement to The Verge, an Apple spokesperson said, "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.” The smart speaker, priced at $349 was all set to release in December this year. However now the company will release the smart speaker in early 2018 in the US, UK, and Australia.

The cylindrical speaker features a seven-speaker array of tweeters, a four-inch subwoofer, and a six-microphone array, which puts it right on par spec-wise with the best speakers in its price range. But. where it may fall short is Siri, which isn’t really in the same class as Alexa or Google Assistant.

The smart speaker is slated to take on high-end smart sound systems like Sonos and smart assistants like Google Home and Amazon Echo. With no release date in sight(early 2018 is vague), it could be a while before the Apple HomePod goes on sale.