Apple has announced that the release of the HomePod has been delayed until early 2018 when it was originally supposed to come to stores in December.
A statement provided by Apple says that “a little more time” is needed before the HomePod is ready, “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.”
However, Apple’s definition of “early” in a year is usually anytime from January to April and, as usual, they did not provide any explanation for the delay.
The HomePod was originally unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June and at that time it was said that it would launch in December for $349, starting in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. This is the first Apple product that has been delayed since the AirPods in October 2016.
HomePod will serve both as a “Hey Siri” assistant and a HomeKit hub. The high-fidelity speaker has spatial awareness and Apple-engineered audio technology which includes a seven-tweeter array and high-excursion woofer, and is powered by Apple’s A8 chip. A firmware leak back in July reveals that it only has 1 GB of RAM.
