“Apple said on Friday that it’s delaying the launch of its HomePod smart speaker until next year,” Todd Haselton and Sara Salinas report for CNBC.
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. — Apple Inc.
“The HomePod was originally announced during Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June,” Haselton and Salinas report. “It’s priced at $349.”
“The HomePod was originally scheduled to ship in December ahead of the holiday shopping season,” Haselton and Salinas report. “Apple did not provide a specific reason for the delayed launch.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Unfortunately, this is par for the course at Tim Cook’s Apple.
$268.9 billion in cash on hand. Still can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.
Sometimes Apple, the world’s most profitable and most valuable company, still operates as if they only have five guys from NeXT working around the clock trying to do all the work on a shoestring budget. — MacDailyNews, April 4, 2017
Yes, we want Apple to ship products when they’re ready. We also want them to ship products when they said they were going to ship them and, most especially, not miss Christmas.
Real artists ship. – Steve Jobs
Luckily for Tim Cook, Steve Jobs left him a perpetual profit machine that can absorb pretty much any lackadaisical fsckatude that can be thrown into the spokes.
We can almost see the smiles of the Amazon Echo and Google Home execs from here.
SEE ALSO:
Apple CEO Tim Cook: The ‘operations genius’ who never has enough products to sell at launch – October 23, 2017
Apple reveals HomePod smart home music speaker – June 5, 2017
Apple is misplaying the hand Steve Jobs left them – November 30, 2016
Apple delays AirPod rollout – October 26, 2016
Apple delays release of watchOS 2 due to bug – September 16, 2015
Apple delays HomeKit launch until autumn – May 14, 2015
Apple delays production of 12.9-inch ‘iPad Pro’ in face of overwhelming iPhone 6/Plus demand – October 9, 2014
Tim Cook’s mea culpa: iMac launch should have been postponed – April 24, 2013
😤
After the iPhone eXperimental controversy Apple wants to avoid another embarrassment. Perhaps Tim Cook will eschew corporate secrecy and permit public feedback before worldwide release.
Highly disappointing. There were to be a few of these under respective family members trees this year. Hopefully they will at least have AirPods in stock.
Apple working on incorporating the notch on future Home Pods. Stay tuned, Mac fans.
Awww bummer, I was really wanting a few of these for Christmas. Oh well. My guess is this has more to do with being able to offer a slightly better version/components in near term vs meeting some arbitrary delivery date. Apple is wanting to deliver something game changing is my hope
Next up Apple delays iMac Pro to 2018, way to go Tim
Or 2019
WTF MDN – you always say ship when ready and don’t ship a flawed product – but then this comment. get with your consistencies!
Ship when right! I can wait a couple of months longer!
Yes, yes, that’s all fine and great, ship only when ready, don’t ship beta product…
But MDN did quote Jobs (“…real artists ship…”). Yes, take the necessary time to get the product right, but taking forever to get it right doesn’t do much good for anyone. This product was shown months ago, and it is a kind of product that does exceptionally well during the holiday season. It would have murdered the competition over the next six weeks, and by missing that window, that competition will rake in billions (with a B), that would have otherwise gone the Apple way.
I wasn’t in the market for the Home Pod, but as an Apple fan, I find it disappointing.
Right on. Of course we don’t want Apple shipping flawed products, but we also don’t want them announcing products that they fail to ship in the timeframe advertised. Better to not reveal them at all until you are 100% sure it’s ready to go when you say it is. Last year AirPods, this year Homepod, next year I expect the iPhone “X-plus” to be delayed.
You mean like the iPhone eXperimental?
Waste of time, Khan. Repeat useless posts. Get a frigging clue, troll.
Such a waste of time that you deliberately chose to comment?
Yes, because Khunts deserve to be khalled out for being Khunts.
and analyze, plan, manage to release consistent with announcements and maximize potential financial punch. Gift giving season was missed again and this was clearly a product that would be at home under the tree. Familiar refrain repeated as the operational genius misses another notable opportunity…”oh well.”
It’s called Apple’s failure to deliver on time as promised and Apple’s failure to capture holiday sales. You do realize that Apple had promised December realease, right? WTF happened? Can you provide any insight why Apple has failed to deliver as promised?
Yes Khunt, they weren’t fscking ready. If your pea-brain cannot understand then, then you are an even bigger Khunt than we all thought.
This is incredibly disappointing.
I was hoping to get one next month so I can take my iPad out of my house instead of having to keep it there as a Home Hub.
Oh well, I’ll pop the money into my savings account until Apple pull their fingers out…
My god Apple!
Why are you making Eddie Cue do everything around there?
Well… maybe its better.. keeps the focus on iphones …..
Let people spend their money on iphone X or iphone 8 And airpods for this holiday.
And come early next year homepods..
Spreads things out a bit…..
At the end they will sell all they make …
Pfft, I’m still waiting for Prime Video on Apple TV.
Then complain to Amazon. it’s up to them re Prime Video.
No, the feature is missing on Apple products, so you complain to them. Got it, Apple apologist? …
so, you are a Khunt too, eh?
Ah, you made a fake new word and running around MDN giddy with fake instant avatar variations. Wow, you must be so proud of yourself because you know all about being a “Khunt” in many forms …
It’s also typical of MDM that they promise to get the stock ticker fixed “soon” and then it just disappears.
It’s orders of magnitude easier to fix a website stock ticker than bring to fruition a new, very complex tech product. Not to mention that this product has extremely sophisticated technology for a device so relatively inexpensive.
Those who live in glass houses…
When we have $268.9 billion in cash on hand and 123,000 employees, we’ll be sure to get that stock ticker back up there for ya lickety-split.
In the meantime, the AAPL quote is below every article and has been since shortly after the stock ticker data source pulled their feed without notice, blindsiding and affecting untold number of websites across the web. We do not have a developer on standby. We have to wait for an opening in the schedule.
We continue to work on securing a new source of quote data and/or moving the current TradingView or similar ticker to the old position on each page. The error message atop each page has been removed while we work on the issue.
Thank you for your patience, those of you who have patience.
Your fault, you cutyour own nose to spite your face – eat it.
This whole thread is filled with breezy Khunts. Sad.
But Apple promised release December 2017. Please, keep up with the rest of us, will you?
MDN, settle down. It will be here and be right when it is here. I’m dying to get several of these, but I want them to not be in Beta when released (see Alphabet, Samsung, Microsoft, etc). I also think you should not cite Tim Cook in the same piece with 269.8 billion in reserves, since he’s the one who put most of it there. (I know that these were Steve Jobs plans, but he has faithfully carried these out and most of the time you seem to be pretty happy with them).
MDN was too kind in my view. This is now happening yearly with Clueless Cook …
Apple must so hate Christmas they rarely seem able to celebrate it early that’s for sure.
AirPower is also delayed until 2018. Both should have been ready for Christmas—at least for pre-Sale.
I would rather have it right. Ship when ready. The revenue generated for Christmas will make little difference. The revenue in the first calendar (Apple’s 2nd fiscal) quarter might be helpful, but will still be small.
I would rather have it right, as well fanboy. But how about EARLY, too much to ask I know, $268.9 billion in cash on hand just DOES NOT get it done. How about, at the very LEAST — ON FRIGGIN’ TIME!
Hitler’s mate FRIGS IT UP AGAIN in teh comment section. You’re just another mate of King Khunts. Sad.
Another instant avatar in the last few hours, at least six so far.
Listen up immature MDN regular hiding under a fake avatar, you did not address, agree or disagree, with ANYTHING in my post.
You have chosen instead to be an anonymous hit and run insult artist and an immature “Khunt.”
Your kind is not allowed — get off my lawn …
Again in the Cook world of Apple, ship late, miss Christmas, when expendable cash is at its highest…then complain when the street marks you down because you missed the mark.
What!? Scrap this project. If you miss this holiday gift season APPLE HAS LOST this market. Google & Amazon will dominate & you will never catch up. BIG mistake. HUGE!
Apple lost the market a year or more ago. Siri sucks on an iPhone, why buy it on an stationary puck?
Even if you are into lo-fi music rental, all there pucks look like a waste of money for anyone who has a proper hifi and a current iOS device with AirPlay.
Apple hasn’t skated to where the puck will be since Cook took over. It’s a true laggard in just about all things except the bloody iPhone. If Apple can’t tie you to a subscription or a walled garden store, Cook won’t put any resources into it.
Remember when Apple Inc had a CEO who, either through outright fear, the will to succeed or by his vaunted reality distortion field inspired it’s employees to go those extra miles to make possible the impossible, to tirelessly progress forward until a vision was achieved to completion and very often by deadline?
Pepperidge Farm remembers.
I remember too.
This is a case of damned regardless of the direction. If Apple had shipped a profoundly flawed product, the results would be the same; critics will be critics irrespective. I’m looking forward to the product, but I would rather wait for an adequately baked product. My money will still be green in 2018. My Echo Dot is nice, but it’s not fully baked, and Alexa is stupid.
Apple promised December 2017 release. Are you suggesting Apple lied about the realease date? Are you suggesting Apple was OK to release an unfinished product then, after reconsideration, thought otherwise? There is no good spin, fanboy. Don’t promise what you can’t deliver – period.
Typical useless griping at MDN and armchair CEO’ing.
No other tech company manufactures at the scale of Apple with the quality of output. No one comes close. You have to compare Apple more with a car company, or an airplane manufacturer like Boeing.
It’s easy to forget that when Steve was CEO, he made many mistakes, and of course, when he did ship on time, it was due to his COO, that logistics wizard Tim Cook. Oh I guess the critics conveniently forget that.
One also has to keep in mind that when Steve was alive, Apple did not manufacture at their current scale, and Apple had fewer major products. You can’t just throw money at a complex project and magically have unlimited capacity. Even with all of Apple’s resources, their manufacturing partners have finite capacity, and it does take time to bring a new product to market.
As others have wisely noted, I’d rather have Apple wait to get it right rather than rush a flawed product to market.
As to the critics, when you run a company and make stuff as good as Apple at the scale they do, then I’ll listen. Until then your criticisms have absolutely no credibility.
Real artists ship. – Steve Jobs
Read that over and over again until it sinks in, wade.
The most vocal Apple fanboy on planet Earth cannot defend the indefensible. Cook is certainly no artist and supply chain genius, my arse. He is too busy being distracted by bling & fashion and playing SJW, just to name two.
“Apple did not provide a specific reason for the delayed launch.”
No reason was given, that’s right, NO reason was given. So, your SCALE defensive arguments are wishful thinking at best with no credibility as to the ACTUAL reason behind the delay.
Since I don’t know anything more credible than you do, my guess is half-baked software and lame Siri integration. As a conductor, it is obvious with each passing year Cook simply CANNOT keep the trains running on time. Sorry, Apple apologists everywhere — the reality is painfully OBVIOUS.
Now, anyone care to guess the product that will be delayed for Christmas 2018? Place your bets here ladies and gentlemen, place your bets … 🎲🎲
Wade orders a fatwa against anyone who criticizes Apple. I don’t know if that’s hilarious or pathetic. You know, Wade, you really shouldn’t self-identify with Apple, it will only destroy your peace of mind and your ability to grow as a mature adult.
I like how you make excuses. Apple needs people to excuse them.
As I have said before the 5 guys would probably have shipped. Because it is really hard to get 20,000 people to work efficiently on 1 product. All of Apple best and ground breaking products were don by small focused team of Pirates.
Some examples.
Apple 1 (1 Guy)
Apple II (Mostly 1 Guy)
Mac (Small Team)
Interesting take, Jeff. Apple may be guilty of growing too fast and bloatware in employment numbers …
As the owner of an Amzon Dot, my opinion is that people aren’t missing much if they wait for the Apple device.
This should be simple – don’t announce a product and shipping date until you are sure you can make them.
Why is this so complicated?
Exactly. The same as Apple has done with the impending, mythical MacPro …
Chris, you are 100% correct.
BIGGEST failure!!!
Steve Jobs – Announce, Release, Financials in ONE quarter.
Tim Cook – Announce in Q2, Miss release for Q3/Q4, Delays, Fruition Q1 the next year, Financials a year later.
Tim has 3 critical failures here:
1 – Time to market
2 – Meet demand
3 – Understanding how the quarters are different and how to work them properly..
Insightful timetable graphic I have not seen before — well done.
Agree, Cook needs to move on …
Another Tim Cook Failure.. one of MANY… and WHY he needs to step aside. Remember when I said he should GO a year ago? This WEAKNESS will repeat itself often. NOT a fan of Tim as the CEO.
No surprise I called it the day of Apples event.. Sad, so few products and they cannot manage to these few. Just goes to show you money means nothing. All those billions and still can’t get a product out on time.. Btw, I have almost all of them still embarrassing. Apple should not even announce a product until they can ship orders they are just incapable of pre-announcing anything properly.
Thre is NO WAY I’d buy this Home pod. In a few years apple will discontinue it as they do with many of their little hobbies. If they can abandon the Mac, the homepod or any other gadget is doomed. The whole Homekit hobby is dead before it all started.