Now that the Apple Watch is officially available for pre-orders, Apple has opened up its new Concierge service, allowing you to schedule appointments with Apple Specialists for official Watch fittings.
Provided you can find an available slot, that is!
The Apple Watch is now available for pre-orders, and with it Apple has revealed a few more details about the cost of its AppleCare+ service for the wearables — ranging from $49 for the cheapest option all the way up to $1,500.
Find out what you need to know below.
Did you get to your computer too late to get one of the earliest shipping Apple Watches? No problem: Confirmed preorders are already showing up on eBay.
At a premium, of course.
Shipping dates on the Apple Watch may have already slipped back as far as August in some cases, but there’s one surefire way to get your hands on Apple’s hotly-anticipated wearable: be a big name celebrity.
As users around the world counted down the seconds until they could preorder an Apple Watch, both Katy Perry and Drake posted pictures to their Instagram accounts, showing themselves posing with their brand new Edition devices.
Is it too late for me to start a career in pop music?
The gold Apple Watch Edition is expected to be big in China, but if the first hour of pre-orders are any indication, Tim Cook’s going to need to order up a lot more gold.
Within the first hour of pre-orders going online the Apple Watch Edition has already sold out in China.
You can finally pre-order the Apple Watch of your dreams, but if you want one ASAP skip the Space Gray or fancier models.
Shipping times for the Apple Watch have already slipped into May for the Apple Watch Sport, while some of the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition models won’t ship until June or even August.
Apple Watch pre-orders just went online, but if you’d like to go try-on Jony Ive’s amazing timepiece before you buy it, you can now schedule a one-on-one appointment to go through the different models.
Apple Stores have been outfitted with new viewing tables and demo stations for the pre-order launch. Reservations only last 15 minutes, (unless you’re buying the Apple Watch Edition), but that should be enough time to find the right case and band combo to match your style. Some readers overseas have sent us pictures of their Apple Watch try-on sessions.
Take a look at the store makeover:
It’s officially April 10th on the West Coast, which means the Apple Store is now open for Apple Watch preorders.
The Online Apple Store is still down for some visitors, but we were just able to place an order for the Apple Watch Sport 42mm Silver Aluminum Case. Shipping estimates are already slipping into May so you may want to hurry and get your order in sooner rather than later.
The Apple Store iOS app seems to be the easiest way to get an order in right now while the website is down. You can also schedule a try-on appointment to try on watches through the website or iOS app.
This week, Lewis has the inside look at the best way to pre-order that Apple Watch, Buster and Luke have a ton of insight on the wristband based on early reviews, and there’s even more, like the straight dope on the new Macbook from Buster, top keyboard shortcuts for all Mac users from Rob, and a fascinating piece from David about custom action figures, including an armored whale that’s no fluke!
Check it all out in this action-packed–yet still free–April 10th issue of Cult of Mac Magazine!
For the first time since the disappointing Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, the world’s most ultra-violent fighting franchise is making its way onto iOS, courtesy of Mortal Kombat X Mobile: a stripped down, swipe-based version of the console Mortal Kombat X, which fuses together card battler and bone-crushing action.
The construction of Apple Campus 2 came under fire earlier this week, after the Mercury Times reported that Apple had a blanket ban on hiring ex-felons. However, Cult of Mac has learned that such a ban never existed.
“We believe in opportunity for everyone, and Apple has never had a blanket ban on hiring people with felony convictions,” an Apple spokesperson told Cult of Mac.
Some ex-felon applicants were turned away within the past seven years, because of a part of the background process. Those restrictions are now being lifted though, as Apple says it’s recognized that “that this may have excluded some people who deserve a second chance.”
Here’s the full statement from Apple:
To make the most personal device ever, Apple is using sapphire glass for the Apple Watch to make its display more durable. None of the reviews we read yesterday complained about scratches on their Apple Watch, but iPhoneFixed managed to get its hands on a 38mm Apple Watch display and put it through a barrage of tests.
Apple Watch’s glass stood strong during tests with keys, sandpaper, and even a hammer. Then the crazy nerds busted out a power drill to and throttled it on the glass. The results might shock you.
Check out the glass after the test below:
We’re eagerly counting down the last few hours until we can preorder the Apple Watch, but I think I may have found a new love for my wrist: The Apple II Watch.
The brilliant folks over at Instructables unveiled a retro Apple Watch styled after the Apple II computer. If Apple made a smartwatch back in 1985, this would be it. The amazing device actually works and you can make one yourself.
Check out its incredible features:
The new MacBook goes on sale this week, and while the first reviews have raved about its incredible design, unbelievable thinness and jaw-dropping display, it’s probably not for you.
While early critiques might have alleviated concerns that the new MacBook’s CPU is about as powerful as a 2011 netbook, there are a few other issues you should know about before you rush to the Apple Store to snap up a shiny gold MacBook.
These are the new MacBook’s 10 biggest flaws:
Tim Cook has only said that the Apple Watch Edition will be available in “select stores” later this month. You won’t be able to just walk into any location and try on the ultra-expensive gold model.
Now we know exactly which Apple retail stores around the world will sell the Edition when it goes on sale April 24th.
Apple Watch has been hogging so much of the tech spotlight lately that you could be forgiven for forgetting that Apple is also about to release a revolutionary new computer.
The first reviews of the new MacBook landed on the web to remind us that the first gold MacBook will be available to order tomorrow, too. According to the experts, it’s the most beautiful computer ever created. But should you buy it?
Here’s the good and the bad of the new MacBook.
You’re in a mood and your face can’t hide it. Now imagine if that face was the source of music.
The “Sound of Emotion,” a musical project created with facial expression recognition technology, will be on display at the Market Street Prototyping Festival in San Francisco. The festival runs today through April 11 on Market Street between Embarcedero and Van Ness.
The installation will use four iPad and for selected genres, each device will represent a single instrument, such as bells, a didgeridoo and drums.
Apple dropped its third major update for iOS 8 yesterday, and along with racially diverse emoji, two-factor authentication for Google and new Siri languages came another altogether unwelcome addition: a fault that is stopping Touch ID from working for many users.
Sadly, this is the kind of thing that is becoming a more regular occurrence for Apple. Despite exciting new hardware developments like the Apple Watch, the company has been getting increasingly sloppy with software updates — with routine and sometimes crucial functionality taking a hit on what feels like a regular basis.
The person who named the first television remote control in 1950 knew exactly how it would transform Americans. It was called “Lazy Bones.”
Sure enough, we became couch potatoes. But television today without a remote would be near impossible and far from relaxing. Who would want to stand at the set pressing the up arrow button to go through the infinite number of channels brought to us by cable and satellite TV?
You probably grew up with parents that referred to the remote as a “clicker.” That’s because early models had big buttons that made a percussive sound when pressed. The first TV remotes, like Zenith’s Lazy Bones, were tethered to the set with a long cord.
Apple is clearly expecting the Apple Watch to be a big hit, because it’s already limiting orders to just its online store.
In an effort to help meet expected demand, Apple has announced that you won’t be able to go into your local store and walk out with a Watch for the foreseeable future.
Here’s a couple of tips should you decide to hire an octopus as your photographer.
If it asks you to “watch the birdie,” be sure to know exactly which tentacle is holding it. Also, don’t let it charge you double for the shots where a tentacle got in front of the lens.
An animal trainer at an aquarium in Aukland, New Zealand has trained an octopus named Rambo to photograph visitors to her tank. Considering the intelligence of these sea creatures, it may only be a matter of time before she raises her prices. For now, she charges $2.
While you’re at work today, Tim Cook is enjoying croissants and chocolat chaud at a chic French eatery. Probably.
That’s because the Apple CEO is reportedly in Paris: most likely for the Apple Watch’s official public unveiling tomorrow at one of the city’s fanciest department stores, Galeries Lafayette Haussmann.
A destroyed MacBook Air is now on display as part of an exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Wondering how it got there? Two words: Edward Snowden.
The Apple Watch launch might be Cupertino’s most innovative — and complicated — product rollout ever. Usually you just pick between a colors and tech specs, but for Apple’s “most personal device yet,” things aren’t so straightforward.
Even the actual purchasing process is different: Lining up at the store a couple days early isn’t going to help you this time, but this guide to buying an Apple Watch definitely will. It’s loaded with tips for beating the odds and wrapping an Apple Watch around your wrist on launch day.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to preorder and buy an Apple Watch.
(Editor’s note: This post has been updated and stickied to the top of Cult of Mac’s homepage. You’ll find fresh Apple news by scrolling down the page.)
You probably knew this already, but if you’ve got a jailbroken iPhone or iPad, don’t upgrade to iOS 8.3. Not only does it break existing jailbreaks, but it patches a huge number of security holes in the operating system, making an iOS 8.3 jailbreak farther off than ever.