The HomePod melodrama continues.

After rumors of a standalone Siri-powered speaker first emerged in 2016, Apple confirmed the existence of the HomePod at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June this year. A month later came the "firmware scandal" -- Apple's unintentional leak, via software update, of previously unknown details about the HomePod (as well as iOS 11, the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X).

Now, just five months after Phil Schiller, an Apple senior vice president, confirmed a December 2017 release for the forthcoming device, comes yet another twist. On Nov. 17, the company officially delayed the HomePod launch until "early 2018," citing a need for "more time."

Read: HomePod delay clouds Apple's smart speaker future

In the meantime, Amazon, Google and others have been solidifying their places in the growing smart speaker market. The Google Home Mini and Amazon Dot, each discounted down to $30, were featured prominently in nearly every Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale this year. Next year, Apple will enter an increasingly competitive market with some considerable headwinds.

Even before it launches officially, we have some idea of how the HomePod will stack up -- at least on paper -- against the other players in the market. We'll need to fully review the HomePod before drawing any conclusions, but here's an overview of what we know -- and what we think we know -- based on rumors and confirmed information.

Read: Apple's HomePod went through years of starts and stops

Confirmed: It will launch in 'early 2018' in the US, UK and Australia

We don't know exactly when the HomePod will launch -- Apple has committed only to "early 2018." The company confirmed its plan to start with these three regions during the WWDC keynote and again in its statement about the launch delay. We expect availability to expand globally later in the year.

In contrast, Amazon has released only a few Echo models outside of the US (i.e., the UK and Germany), though we anticipate more Echo offerings in the UK and Australia in 2018. After initially launching the US, the Sonos One is now available in Austria, Germany, the UK and the US.

Read: Apple delays HomePod to 2018

Confirmed: It won't be cheap

This is Apple, after all, and the HomePod will launch squarely into the high-end of the smart speaker market. Priced at $350 (£349 and AU$465), the characteristically premium device will be at least $100 more expensive than Amazon's priciest Alexa smart speaker, the Echo Show.

It will cost $150 more than Harman Kardon's Cortana-enabled Invoke or the excellent Sonos One -- a frenemy that has promised to add support for Siri assistant in 2018. Only Google's Home Max, at $400, costs more -- and, as seen during Black Friday this year, its manufacturer has shown a willingness to grant deep discounts.

Confirmed: It will cover the smart speaker basics 

We know the HomePod will provide voice-activated access to Siri, Apple's virtual assistant, which will be the conduit for hands-free messaging, controlling Apple's Music app, setting reminders and getting news updates and weather reports.

These types of things are table stakes for smart speakers in 2017. Amazon's Alexa has been steadily building its arsenal of skills since 2014 and has a very deep bench of integrations with third-party developers and support for smart home technologies. Though it's newer to the smart speaker market, the Sonos One now supports Alexa as well as Google Assistant and, coming in 2018, Siri, making it the first multiplatform player.

Apple will be playing catch-up -- but with an install base of roughly 700 million iPhone users, the HomePod will come out of the gate with lots of momentum and upside.

Read: Apple HomePod vs. Google Home vs. Amazon Echo

Confirmed: It will be compatible with HomeKit

Ultimately, the HomePod will serve as the hardware headquarters for Apple's smart-home platform, HomeKit. Until now, HomeKit apps have been confined to the iPhone and iPad, so the standalone speaker will make them more accessible and surely more plentiful.

Apple had previously required a specific chip be added to each HomeKit-enabled device for certification, but discontinued that policy in June, paving way for greater developer and manufacturer uptake. Though Sonos and especially Amazon are compatible with an array of smart-home devices, neither has its own platform. Advantage: Apple.

Read: What is HomeKit?

Confirmed: It will have 'spatial awareness'

Schiller said the HomePod will be able to adjust audio based on the environment, and that multiple HomePods will automatically work together to shape sound using its six integrated microphones. A number of Amazon's smart speakers have Echo Spatial Perception (ESP), which makes it so that only the Echo device that's closest to you responds to your command. Two interesting and distinct takes on spatial awareness.

Read: Amazon's 'ESP' is here to make Alexa a better listener

Confirmed (preliminarily): It will sound good

In his keynote, Schiller played up the HomePod's "incredible acoustic properties," ticking off a laundry list of specs like real-time acoustic modelling, audio beam-forming and multichannel echo cancellation. CNET editor Scott Stein, received a brief demo and deemed the sound quality "vivid and crisp, more so than the Sonos and Amazon comparisons on-hand."

Still, the Google Home Max has two woofers and two tweeters, compared to the one onboard the HomePod and Echo Plus; it also has more ports than the Echo Plus, with a USB-C and a 3.5-millimeter audio jack. We don't know what ports and connectors the HomePod will have. We'll need to complete a full review before we can make a conclusive determination.

Read: Apple HomePod: A first listen

Rumor: It has some sort of a screen

Steve Troughton-Smith, the developer who first discovered many of the juiciest bits hiding in the firmware leak, tweeted that the HomePod has an "LED matrix" that could "perhaps display shapes/symbols." Another developer, Avery Magnotti, followed that up with a screenshot of the code that refers to a 272x340 resolution. Such a display could go the minimalist route, simply confirming that Siri is listening to your command, or occupy more integral ground, offering virtual volume control buttons or other navigational or UI elements.

Of course, if true, the HomePod won't be alone in the visuals department. A number of Amazon Echo devices have a light ring that serves as an indicator of sorts, and the Echo Spot and Echo Show both have full-fledged displays.  

Photos: Say hello to Apple's HomePod smart speaker

Rumor: It runs a full version of iOS -- just like the iPhone and iPad

Troughton-Smith discovered that the HomePod runs a full version of Apple's iOS mobile operating system -- just like the iPhone and iPad. Though the device appears to support Accessibility features like VoiceOver, it does not seem to accommodate the installation of apps or extensions -- for now.

In contrast, Amazon's smart speakers support third-party extensions, allowing third-party developers to create apps without needing native support. We assume Apple will eventually follow suit.

Read: iOS 11: Release date, best features, tips and download.

Rumor: It will be as powerful as an iPhone 6

Developers also found evidence suggesting that the HomePod will come equipped with 1GB of RAM and an Apple A8 processor -- making it as about as powerful as an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus in terms of hardware. If true, the HomePod will be the most powerful speaker of its kind, with more processing firepower than any model in Amazon's or Google's portfolios.

We'll continue to keep an eye on news and rumors in the run up to the HomePod's official debut in early 2018.We'll continue to keep an eye on news and rumors in the run-up to the HomePod's official debut in December 2017.

Editors' note: This article was originally published on Aug. 12, 2017 and has been periodically updated as more information comes to light. It was most recently updated on December 5, 2017.