Apple, the largest company in the world, hypes like mad its first new product launch since the death of its iconic founder. Starting in September 2014, Apple showcases this revolutionary product. Announces it will be available "Early 2015". For almost 9 months it publicizes this product in every conceivable way: celebrity sightings, fashion magazine spreads, print and TV ads.
The product is touted as a "gamechanging" accessory to the iPhone, marketed to the nearly 100 million users. Apple creates a fever pitch of excitement for its launch, and to these 100 million possible customers, following over $100 million in advertising and billions in R&D, on launch day Apple produces:
376,000 watches.
Epic.Fail.
----------
Here's a quote from
Venture Beat that sort of sums it all up:
It was, in many ways, a botched launch. Consumer interest and demand proved to be very high, but the research suggests that Apple was able to process and fulfill only about 22 percent of the initial orders. Everything else was delayed.
This comes on top of the fact that Apple introduced a strange new online-only ordering process for the Watch. Theres no more in-store impulse buying. No magic moment in the store where you say I have to have that and then lay down the plastic. No immediate gratification. Instead you wait (and wait) for the notification to finally arrive from Apple saying your product is about to ship.
Many people who ordered on Day 1 (including one of my coworkers) have now received two delay notices from Apple. Some, however, have also received a note saying that the estimated ship date has been moved up. Regardless, most people are having to wait anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the Watch model they ordered.
The result, I think, is that many peoples first experience with the Apple Watch and for some, their first experience with smartwatches, full stop is kind of a bummer.
If you're having a great experience waiting for your watch, good for you. For most it kind of sucks.
----------
I wouldn't say misrepresentation; I don't think Apple lied to anyone. But there was a huge miscalculation.
Webster's on "early"
early - at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
January or February is "early" in the year. March maybe too. Late April? Not so much. I ordered mine on the first day available and may not get it until May 27. Others who ordered that day won't get theirs until June. That's "middle" by anyone's definition.
Apple merits criticism for the way that this launch happened. It was a fail. It's really not even close to anything other than a fail.
Watch sales numbers may lend credence to some of the low estimates.
