Saying it needs "a little more time" before it's ready, Apple has delayed the release of the tech giant's much-anticipated HomePod smart speaker until after the holidays. The speaker was announced in June at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference and is priced at $349.
The HomePod had been scheduled to ship in December, in time to compete with the Amazon Echo, Google Home and Sonos during the holiday speaker shopping rush. That will have to wait until "early" next year, though the company did not give a specific date for the eventual 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," the company said in a statement on Friday. "We'll start shipping in the US, UK and Australia in early 2018."