The Apple Watch isn’t available for preorder until this Friday, and it’s already looking like certain models won’t ship by April 24.
The German online Apple Store was briefly showing some Apple Watch configurations with shipping estimates as late as 4-6 weeks, as noted by Macerkopf. The U.K. Apple Store showed similar estimates earlier today, but they have since been taken down.
The most basic Apple Watch Sport model had shipping dates of April 24 to May 8 for preorders, which is a two-week window. Some mid-tier Apple Watch models with certain straps had estimates of 4 to 6 weeks. That would be quite a long time to wait for something who preorders as soon as possible.
It’s always possible that the estimates were incorrect or some sort of bug, but given how constrained Apple’s launch inventory usually is, the shipping delays wouldn’t be surprising. International markets could also have less supply initially.
The bottom line: even if you preorder Friday, you may not be guaranteed to have an Apple Watch on your doorstep by the 24th.
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
4 responses to “Some Apple Watch preorders probably won’t ship by April 24”
It would be illogical to preorder on the 10th and not receive the Apple Watch promptly on the 24th. I demand that Apple not tease us with glitches to play with our minds!
I’m going to wait it out. It’s not something I need and I can wait. I think with this I’m going to apply my 6 month rule on new technology.
I had a feeling this was gonna happen and the reality is even more frustrating. If Apple doesn’t think it can ship a product by launch day then bump up the pre-order date so there’s a better chance of them actually shipping the day of launch.
I don’t mind waiting a few days to a week but it’ll already be two weeks from the pre-order date so having to wait yet another 2 or more weeks is very disheartening.
Then again, we’ve waited this long, what’s another week or more, right? No sense getting our boxers in a bunch over it. It just sucks that Apple gets your money immediately while the physical product is weeks away.
What’s worse is the anticipation. Soaking up all the Apple Watch news I can isn’t helping.
Just ordered my 42mm Space Grey Sport…. 4-6 weeks to ship…. Really? At the soonest I’ll get it May 13th. Unacceptable.