Apple delays HomePod until 2018, surrendering the smart speaker holiday market to Amazon and Google

Apple today announced that the HomePod smart speaker will no longer be made available this year, but rather in early 2018. Missing the holidays could be a major setback for the smart speaker, which will compete with Amazon’s Echo series, Google’s Home series, and other several other smart speakers on the market. Though the smart speaker market is relatively new, the holiday season is traditionally the biggest time of year for sales.
“We can’t wait for people to experience