Apple's HomePod is finally coming. Here's how it stacks up against Amazon and Google.

Apple on Tuesday announced a Feb 9. release date for its smart speaker called the HomePod -- allowing the company that first popularized virtual assistants through its smartphones to finally enter the market for virtual assistants in the home. The looming question for the company, though, is whether it is too late. Apple is releasing its smart speaker nearly three years after the Amazon Echo and after the Google Home, which launched in 2016. Apple also originally scheduled the HomePod to hit the market in December 2017 before the critical holiday shopping season. But the device was delayed until early 2018, past the time for avid shopping and gift giving.