Apple expects to sell four million HomePods next year

Apple expects to ship 4M HomePods next year, according to a Bloomberg report. Last week Apple said the smart speaker launch will now happen in “early 2018” instead of in December, as expected. Buzzfeed’s John Paczkowski tweets the full statement from the tech giant: 

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.

Announced in June, the $349 system is just under seven inches tall and looks like a piece of furniture. It will be available in both space gray and white. The HomePod also acts as a hub for HomeKit devices to provide remote access to home automation. It will use Siri to browse and select music from Apple Music, control the home through HomeKit, and answer questions.