An Apple spokesperson:

“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.”

I’m disappointed that HomePod won’t be released, but if it’s not ready, Apple is making the right decision. I would rather wait for a couple of months than have a product that’s not working properly.