Apple’s first wearable went up for pre-order last week, with early estimates suggesting it managed to sell close to a million devices in the US in one day alone. Reuters estimates 6 percent of US adults intend to buy the device. Oddly though, Apple has so far not released any official pre-order figures, which is strange if the device is the success that it appears to be. Why isn’t Apple shouting about it from the rooftops? What is it waiting for?
Another more pertinent question is this: when will Apple start selling the device -- for real -- and in-store? 24th April you say? Well that’s what Apple originally said, but that no longer appears to be the case.
Anyone pre-ordering the Apple Watch online can now expect to wait months before they receive their purchase. Some Apple Watch models have shipping dates listed as 4-6 weeks, while the Apple Watch Sport and Apple Watch Edition have shipping dates shown simply as "June".
Meanwhile, on the Apple.com website, the on-sale date -- the fabled 24th April -- has vanished. In its place is a vague "The Watch is coming" message.
Over on the UK version of the site, the 24th of April is still shown as the on-sale date. So that suggests that Brits will be able to buy the device then (although the online shipping delays are exactly the same for UK purchasers as they are for US ones).
So what’s going on? The obvious suggestion is that demand has seriously outstripped supply. Apple always limits the availability of new products at launch, so it can create an inflated illusion of popularity. The more popular something appears to be, the more people will want it. The harder it is to get, the more desirable it becomes, and so on.
But in this instance, Apple appears to either have seriously underestimated how popular the Apple Watch was going to be, or it’s run into supply problems and is struggling to meet the planned release date.
Either way, if you were hoping to walk into an Apple Store next Friday and walk out with a brand new Apple Watch, you’ll likely need to rethink your plans.
Continue reading...