Sam Oliver
The Apple Watch will be available to purchase in retail stores on June 26, Apple announced Thursday, the same day that availability will expand to Italy, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan.
In addition to Apple retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers, the company will expand its network of boutique stores that carry the Watch. New outlets will include 10 Corso Como in Milan, BOONTHESHOP Cheongdam in Seoul and Malmaison by The Hour Glass in Singapore, which will all carry what Apple calls "a curated selection" of Watch models.
"The response to Apple Watch has surpassed our expectations in every way, and we are thrilled to bring it to more customers around the world," Apple operations chief Jeff Williams said in a release. "We're also making great progress with the backlog of Apple Watch orders, and we thank our customers for their patience. All orders placed through May, with the sole exception of Apple Watch 42 mm Space Black Stainless Steel with Space Black Link Bracelet, will ship to customers within two weeks. At that time, we'll also begin selling some models in our Apple Retail Stores."
The Apple Watch is currently available in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the U.S. Sales have been conducted exclusively online — Â with the exception of a handful of high-end department stores and boutiques in the U.S., UK, and Japan — Â until now.
After a shaky start that saw some models delayed by as long as 8 weeks, Apple has begun to catch up with Apple Watch demand and many versions are now shipping in as little as 5 days. The company has yet to reveal sales figures for its new wearable, but some sales insight may come during next week's keynote address at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference.
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21 Comments
really curious to find out if it's mostly a supply side constraint or if it's demand that's off the charts. hope it's the latter. still on the fence about getting mine.
really curious to find out if it's mostly a supply side constraint or if it's demand that's off the charts. hope it's the latter. still on the fence about getting mine.
It is both.
There is nothing to be on the fence about. It is a great product. Just don't expect a full fledged iOS device on your wrist and you won't be disappointed.
I never wanted that. I wanted it to be what it is: an extension of iPhone.
I wonder how long the overnight lines will be at iStores?
I wanted it to be what it is: an extension of iPhone.
Yep, that's how I use mine and it's really useful. I've almost completely stopped taking my iPhone out of my pocket every few minutes.
My concern is when onboard apps start appearing when the native watchkit appears next week (and I can think of a million great apps for it), battery life will start to become an issue for many - right now, when I go home at night it's usually at 65% plus.
Yep, that's how I use mine and it's really useful. I've almost completely stopped taking my iPhone out of my pocket every few minutes.
My concern is when onboard apps start appearing when the native watchkit appears next week (and I can think of a million great apps for it), battery life will start to become an issue for many - right now, when I go home at night it's usually at 65% plus.
I don't think so; the native apps won't be hammering the BT/WiFi connection for data, which should save some power. Native apps are still months away, the SDK isn't even out yet.