I'll start off by saying I've been a loyal customer of Apple since my first purchase of the Apple IIe....showing my age... For someone who was specifically brought into Apple due to his specialty in logistics, it's hard to believe he could screw-up this big on his first "new" product release. For someone who was a "logistics specialist", it is beyond my understanding as to why you would offer so many different unique part numbers on a new released product line. I worked as a manufacturing engineer for many years and this release was doomed from the start. He created a logistics nightmare for himself. They should have initially released this product in no more than 3 options (Sport, Watch and Limited) with a standard wristband (except for limited of course). Interchangeable wrist bands could be purchased in stores or online (prefereably in stores for the personalized experience). Another screw-up was in the marketing area. I can't believe that they could have missed the mark this far in not realizing most Apple Fans were not going to shell out 600+ on an non-subsidized purchase given the fact that this is a new unproven piece of hardware. People who have received them are still having a hard time to see the big game changer in this product..yes it may look cool but is it worth shelling out that kind of dough??? Lastly, I CAN'T believe he decided to release a new product worldwide at once. Apple had never done this before and this is why. Either they didn't believe in their own product and felt they had to release it worldwide to show wall street that they still had game and could put out the numbers ....or they are real idiots. I'm really getting to the point that I just might cancel my order and wait to things settle down or better yet wait to the 2 Gen....just my 2 cents.
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42mm Space Grey May 13 - 27
- Thread starter dnitzsche
- Start date
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I'll start off by saying I've been a loyal customer of Apple since my first purchase of the Apple IIe....showing my age... For someone who was specifically brought into Apple due to his specialty in logistics, it's hard to believe he could screw-up this big on his first "new" product release. For someone who was a "logistics specialist", it is beyond my understanding as to why you would offer so many different unique part numbers on a new released product line. I worked as a manufacturing engineer for many years and this release was doomed from the start. He created a logistics nightmare for himself. They should have initially released this product in no more than 3 options (Sport, Watch and Limited) with a standard wristband (except for limited of course). Interchangeable wrist bands could be purchased in stores or online (prefereably in stores for the personalized experience). Another screw-up was in the marketing area. I can't believe that they could have missed the mark this far in not realizing most Apple Fans were not going to shell out 600+ on an non-subsidized purchase given the fact that this is a new unproven piece of hardware. People who have received them are still having a hard time to see the big game changer in this product..yes it may look cool but is it worth shelling out that kind of dough??? Lastly, I CAN'T believe he decided to release a new product worldwide at once. Apple had never done this before and this is why. Either they didn't believe in their own product and felt they had to release it worldwide to show wall street that they still had game and could put out the numbers ....or they are real idiots. I'm really getting to the point that I just might cancel my order and wait to things settle down or better yet wait to the 2 Gen....just my 2 cents.
So it's like celebrating Christmas when all of your friends are Jewish.
It's worse when the watches I ordered for my bosses arrived in the first week and one of them hates the watch and says "I don't know why you are still anxious to get yours" and the other absolutely loves it and keeps asking me when I am getting mine.
And that statement is what Apple needs to start to fear, apathy. If early adopters start to turn, the word of mouth and potential loss of future sales not only to who they talk to but other personal Apple purchases is in danger. Apple is more brand than anything else. If they start to tarnish the brand in the minds of their most loyal fans, that is not good. The fact they have been only able to supply 100,000s of watches is horrible considering they announced the product in the Fall. They've tried their best to manage expectations but I think the facts point to a poorly managed launch. I love Tim Cook but when you think about launches, for new products in new categories under Jobs, you can't even compare.
On a personal note, that blue "cancel" button has attracted my eye more than once as I have a Pebble Time coming and v2 of the watch will launch in probably less than 10 months from now.
Wow, never thought of that. Many Apple Watch owners will own their watch for well less than a year before v2. Now pushing August delivery dates for some preorders - that's should be a big concern for Apple.
Yeah the "Available 4/24" marketing statement is pretty laughable. Two weeks later and people who pre-ordered more than 7 minutes after the pre-orders started (and before the website actually was functional) still don't have their orders.
Tick.....................................................tock.........
(pun intended)
Anyone else get the feeling we are watching paint dry on a humid day?
I am glad to be getting the watch, but to be honest....I grow less "excited" about it each day.
SG Sport
BSB
xx:12:22
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It may launch in 10 months, but won't ship for 24.
(pun intended)
Anyone else get the feeling we are watching paint dry on a humid day?
I am glad to be getting the watch, but to be honest....I grow less "excited" about it each day.
SG Sport
BSB
xx:12:22
----------
It may launch in 10 months, but won't ship for 24.
Same boat. My order was at xx:12:01, and I grow a little less excited about it every day. It's driving me nuts.
I assume once it DOES ship, the excitement will ramp back up... but until then, hope is shrinking.
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That's true. It's just disheartening to see how slowly these things are moving.
Last few comments have been SPOT ON!!!! What was once fun is now just turning into down right frustrating and not sure it's worth supporting a company who doesn't value their customers/fans enough!!!!
So I ordered my 42mm SG on 4/10 like most here, I also ordered a new Mini Cooper on 4/22 that has already been produced and is on a boat making its way to the US. Sadly, I will probably get my new car before I get my watch. Seems kind of messed up that a custom built car can be manufactured and sent via boat and get to me before a mass produced watch that will be flown from China.
I understand the dates...I think A LOT of us are upset and impatient because we woke up at 3AM, ordered within 10 to 20 minutes and annoyed with how slow the pace is going. It really pisses people off that within the first few minutes, the dates shifted to May, then to June. I think everyone is shocked that Apple didn't expect 42mm SG to be SO popular.
Well, that's taking it a bit too far... they clearly value us as customers. But they can only do so much, logistically. And like someone else said above, they only promised us May 13-27. To say they clearly don't value us enough isn't quite fair at this point.
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That's not at all a good comparison... your mini didn't have a million orders all within 10 minutes of each other.
I agree, in part. Here's why:
Although we must be realistic that when given an expected shipment window, we should not TRULY anticipate shipment prior to.
However, my issue (and those of many others I would presume) is that after an October announcement, and then in Feb say that April 24th is launch day (roughly 6 months from showcase event/reveal/announcement) that not even 8 minutes worth of "pre-orders" have been shipped in the 2 weeks since launch.
I guess my point is I feel that the shipment window of 3-6 weeks from launch for a product ordered within 10 mins (or LESS) of "pre-orders" is the unrealistic piece of the equation.
I am beginning to wonder if the whole process was a Kickstarter campaign in disguise....
Except Apple knew we were coming...the car company didn't. By looking at a few websites I realized the SGS was going to be wildly popular before the launch...Still not apples to apples but I get it (pun realized but not intended). Seems Apple was so concerned about having too many watches sitting on the warehouse shelves, that they failed to get them where they needed to go...on people's wrists. I mean, I have seen more proof in the wild for Bigfoot than I have of this watch.
I'm patient until I realize that someone screwed up...they did. We'll live but the finish is a bit tarnished. My opinion...and my first/last pre-order experience.
It's a shame to see this thread on a downward spiral.. I'm losing more faith in humanity each day. We were all promised dates, if you don't like those dates then please by all means cancel your order so that the people who are still excited can be bumped up a spot.
If this is really tearing you apart that much, maybe you should stop checking every 30 seconds and just wait till its your turn. Apple isn't going to take the time to read this entire thread to hear your thoughts, all you are doing is clogging up a thread used by people who want to get a good idea of when theirs might arrive
If this is really tearing you apart that much, maybe you should stop checking every 30 seconds and just wait till its your turn. Apple isn't going to take the time to read this entire thread to hear your thoughts, all you are doing is clogging up a thread used by people who want to get a good idea of when theirs might arrive
I'm surprised main stream media hasn't picked up on the uneasy sentiments of those still in processing purgatory. While Apple in principle hasn't missed their estimated ship windows yet, the rate at which these watches are trickling out is a big cause to be concerned. Two weeks and they've only processed the first 7 minutes of orders. The failure of this launch is really starting to show. Last night I saw my first Apple Watch ad and the ending said, "The Apple Watch is Here" I like to fell out of my chair laughing. Such ********! If they are stocking the stores with supply while the bulk of use sit here waiting for our shipments I will certainly cancel my order and refuse to buy one. **** em!!! 
It's already been said that the taptic engine manufacturer is the one who screwed up. I'm no Apple apologetic, but they're doing everything they can to get orders fulfilled, and if that is true about the taptic engine, there's literally nothing they could have done to make the launch any better. Hell, they're keeping them out of retail stores just to fulfill online orders.
You're walking on the temper tantrum line... please don't cross it. Keep in mind, Apple is in the business of making money. They don't piss people off on purpose, and I suspect the delays were out of their hands.
I don't think Apple is trying to create any false sense of supply. They underestimated two things and made one big mistake.
1. The overall demand for Apple Watch.
2. The demand for SGS 42mm watches.
3. The BIG MISTAKE - Selling watches with bands and not just watches!
They clearly went into this with the belief that the Silver Sport watch would be the hot seller of the Sport line. They pushed the color variations on the straps, while the Space Gray watch was off to the side by itself in the display.
I'm going to make an assumption, and say that the interest in the watch was male dominated. Taking that as fact, it's easy to see that most guys would go for larger watches and prefer black over silver. Apple should have taken surveys well into advance and gotten their manufacturing in order to meet the demand.
Finally, Apple should have just sold the damn watch without forcing the customer to accept the band Apple is giving them. Let them pick the band they want at checkout and ship the band separately. I know it doesn't make for fancy packaging but maybe they wouldn't have had to produce twice as many bands for one order, when a customer doesn't really want the Sports band in the first place.
1. The overall demand for Apple Watch.
2. The demand for SGS 42mm watches.
3. The BIG MISTAKE - Selling watches with bands and not just watches!
They clearly went into this with the belief that the Silver Sport watch would be the hot seller of the Sport line. They pushed the color variations on the straps, while the Space Gray watch was off to the side by itself in the display.
I'm going to make an assumption, and say that the interest in the watch was male dominated. Taking that as fact, it's easy to see that most guys would go for larger watches and prefer black over silver. Apple should have taken surveys well into advance and gotten their manufacturing in order to meet the demand.
Finally, Apple should have just sold the damn watch without forcing the customer to accept the band Apple is giving them. Let them pick the band they want at checkout and ship the band separately. I know it doesn't make for fancy packaging but maybe they wouldn't have had to produce twice as many bands for one order, when a customer doesn't really want the Sports band in the first place.
Sure, but every model with 3-4 weeks shipping estimate was "promised dates," as you say. 42MM SGS is the only model so backlogged, as we have yet to make it out of the first 10 minutes. 38mm watch orders are shipping within the day of ordering, which is just not acceptable to us that ordered in the early hours of April 10th. No, humanity is not falling apart.
No argument here, however they said they are shipping out faster than anticipated and then they turned around and bumped mine out after the fact. Don't get me started on the fact that things were bumped out so far after only a few 100,000 orders.
Oh please... Apple promised dates based on what they suspected supply would look like. Contrary to popular belief, Apple can't read our minds to know that this was going to be the most popular. Also in case you weren't aware, Apple didn't plan to get us these watches till 4-6 weeks past, hence why we got that promised time. If some get them early, good for them! Playing this jealousy game just makes everyone look like fools.
This "me too" attitude gets old fast.. Don't you have real issues to focus your energy on?
Sit back and eat your popcorn dude #
Here's the problem yes we were all promised dates but the issue is we all ordered within the first 30 mins and some people can not even get there's until June. What your saying is people should just wait and it will come eventually. Now the problem with that is Apple had since fall to make massive amounts of these. People are not mad that they haven't gotten theirs on the date given there mad about the date given. I keep seeing people like you come on here and say "i am losing faith in humanity" really dude? I mean it's just a apple watch shipping forum for a blog. This isn't starving children in Africa stuff. Do I realize this is a huge first world problem, yes I do. Dude we are all just super exited to get this watch. You know when you were a kid and it was a super nice day outside and you saw all your friends outside but you were stuck inside doing homework. Well that's how I feel we see constant coverage of this watch from the national news all the way down to a independent blog. It sucks dude i don't want to cancel the order Because this watch is the coolest thing from apple in awhile we all get that you can't change the time we get the watch but there is a chance that all of this could lead to a better launch of the apple watch 2.
Can't wait for my apple watch!