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Want an Apple HomePod for Christmas? Nope. Not Gonna Happen.

With the smart speaker market heating up, anticipation was building for Apple’s HomePod, which we were promised before the end of the year. Apple’s smart speakers are said to sound better and integrate seamlessly with other products in the Apple ecosystem.

Maybe so, but no one is going to find out this year.

Apple has announced Friday that the HomePod won’t be available until sometime in early 2018. And even then, it’ll only be available the US, the UK and Australia. As usual, Canada will be somewhere down the list.

Here’s the statement from Apple: “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.”

Apple didn’t say anything about the cause of the delay, but they gotta be annoyed about missing the holiday shopping season and ceding more ground to both Amazon (the Echo/Alexa products are the market leaders) and Google (their Home products are catching up.)

As Michael Hainsworth, my co-host on the Geeks&Beats podcast says, “Oh, ffs Apple…”

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38010 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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