With the recent launches of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, many have been waiting for Apple's other major end-of-year release, the HomePod. Now it looks like those people will have to wait a bit longer than expected.

Apple has confirmed that its HomePod smart speaker has been delayed until early 2018. It was originally slated to ship in December. The company didn't give a reason for the delay, only telling CNBC that "we need a little more time before it's ready for our customers."

Here's Apple's full statement regarding the HomePod delay:

"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."

The HomePod is Apple's answer to devices like the Amazon Echo and Google Home. It's a $349 speaker with Siri built-in that places a focus on high-quality audio, offering a "high-excursion woofer" along with seven tweeters and a spatial awareness feature that would allow the HomePod to sense where it was in a room and push out the audio in the optimal direction.