Are you waiting for the HomePod or buying another smart speaker instead? [Poll]

Last week, Apple announced that it was delaying the release of its HomePod smart speaker into 2018 in order to continue refining the product. Of course, that means Apple will miss the biggest shopping month of the year, but it will likely be worth the wait.

We outlined a few alternatives to the HomePod over the weekend, and now we’re curious: Are you going to hold out for the HomePod or buy another smart speaker instead?

As I wrote over the weekend, the most enticing HomePod alternative on the market right now is the Sonos One. That’s not necessarily due to its current features, but rather what it has the potential to be with AirPlay 2 and Siri support coming soon. The counter argument to that, of course, is that by the time Sonos adds AirPlay 2 and Siri support, the HomePod could very well be available.

Other solid smart speaker options exist from company’s like Amazon, Google, and Ultimate Ears, but what you gain in immediate availability, you lose in integration with Apple’s ecosystem.

The issue with the smart speakers on the market currently is they don’t fully integrate with Apple Music, so you can’t use your voice to control music playback. For subscribers to services such as Spotify, that’s not an issue, but Apple Music subscribers lose out on one of the biggest features of smart speakers.

Personally, while the Sonos One is tempting, I’m going to be holding out for the HomePod. I’m too deep in the Apple ecosystem to compromise on the seamless experience the HomePod will almost certainly provide. Furthermore, Apple delayed the AirPods last year and the longer wait turned out to be more than worth it, and I have no doubts that the wait for the HomePod will also be worth it.

“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.”

Are you holding out for Apple’s HomePod in 2018, or giving in and buying a different smart speaker?

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