Apple Watch Sold Out in Less Than 6 Hours as Shipping Times Slip on All Models

[TallManNY]

And that's with it getting lukewarm reviews. Imagine if it was a must have? We'd be talking iPhone all over again.

I think we are talking iPhone again. At very least I think this is going to be like the iPad where it sells in the 10s of millions every quarter. Not this generation though and not with what you can do with it now.

Some of the reviews have been incredibly shortsighted. For example, the reviewers complained that the Apps were a bit limited and buggy. The App developers literally didn't have a watch to test on (except for the handful that were invited to visit Apple for about a day) and the reviewer is complaining the Apps aren't polished. The reviewer might as well have added in the a sentence about the weather for all the relevance this will have by the end of June of this year. Within a week of the watch becoming available, the developers will update all their apps significantly.

I also don't think folks realize what a game changer Apple Pay and Siri on the wrist is going to be. Apple Pay will just become more widely available and therefor useful. And Siri is just going to get better at doing stuff. The watch is going to be indispensable in a year, I think.

 

[NickUK69]

Question about delivery dates...

So, some of us who pre-ordered have confirmation of delivery 4/24 - 5/8. Is this the first early dates, or have some people got a delivery date of just 4/24?

 

[2457282]

My wife and I went to the store today. She was convinced on getting the Apple Watch with the pink leather modern buckle, but wanted to check out the sizes. I was really leaning against one for myself.

We walked out ordering 2 watches. She got the 38mm as above and I got the 38mm with the steel band.

Hers will arrive in JULY. Mine was still set for May.

Very expensive day.

 

[Dascoyne]

My wife and I went to the store today. She was convinced on getting the Apple Watch with the pink leather modern buckle, but wanted to check out the sizes. I was really leaning against one for myself.

We walked out ordering 2 watches. She got the 38mm as above and I got the 38mm with the steel band.

Hers will arrive in JULY. Mine was still set for May.

Very expensive day.

I ordered the black stainless in 38 mm online at about 12:04 am and my date is June. Am I to believe the black stainless is that popular?

 

[dalestrauss]

So, some of us who pre-ordered have confirmation of delivery 4/24 - 5/8. Is this the first early dates, or have some people got a delivery date of just 4/24?

I have asked this same question on almost every forum I could find - no one has claimed a 4/24 solo date. Everyone (like myself) got the 4/24-5/8 window. If it slips to May, that's 9 months gestation from the announcement.

 

[flaw600]

In store pickup = pay online but fulfilled in a store. No that is not happening but it doesn't mean no in store sales any more than no walk ins does

But go ahead and don't believe me. Go ahead and wait for four months, bitching and moaning about the wait the whole time. Trump up your bogus stories about production delays etc. Meanwhile dozens of folks a day will be reserving product, buying it at the store and sending each other dancing emojis etc while you are still waiting and still bitching cause you didn't listen to anyone that yes the stores will have stock to sell

----------



They will. A week from now will be the in store launch. Any stock waiting to be parsed out will be held until after the first couple of days to see the pattern of sales. Come Monday they will have numbers and know how many they can release into the online channel.

How a week and a half to two weeks from now, yeah those dates may have changed on many watches to much sooner.

First off, actually read my comment. I know what ISP is. There is no ISP for pre-orders and there is not going to be ISP come the 24th. Or walk-in sales. Not initially. This was confirmed by Apple last Thursday via press release. There is no launch walk-in or ISP stock. I'm not just following the press releases by Apple either. I have been to various Apple stores in my area and specifically asked about this and they themselves have told be that a) there will be no ISP at launch, b) there will be no walk-in sales at launch and c) they don't anticipate in-store stock for quite some time.

Undoubtedly, there will be walk in sales and ISP at some point, most likely around June-July. And undoubtedly ship dates will move up as as production increases, as various Apple billing and sales staff have apparently told pre-orderers. But Apple's newest press release made it clear that there will be no ISP or walk-in at launch, meaning the 24th. Various Apple Stores and Apple Online Sales staff have confirmed this for me.

 

[RnSK]

I do not know of anyone, anywhere...

So, some of us who pre-ordered have confirmation of delivery 4/24 - 5/8. Is this the first early dates, or have some people got a delivery date of just 4/24?

...receiving an estimated delivery date in the "early first round" that was not given a two-week delivery span of 4/24-5/8.

In my personal instance, my dates are 4/24-5/8 for 42mm SS/Classic, 4/29 - 5/12 for SS Link bracelet, an incredible 4/23 -4/28 for the 2m charging cable, and 5/13-5/27 for a SS 38mm/Black Modern.

While skeptics point to "tricks and lies" as the culprit for the insane backorders (while discounting/ignoring the whole couldn't-get-an-iPhone 6-or-6 plus-for-two-months-at-least-readily-if-you-were-slow-on-the-uptake) it appears that whatever they could make, they did, and likely used the 'favorites' as an indicator of what to run up, and because Cook is a supply-chain virtuoso, the product, because of the numerous SKUs and the QC involved for what it is, is likely BTO for the most part, so they aren't holding unsold inventory...which, from what anyone objective can tell, doesn't remotely look like it is going to be a problem.

-K

 

[Tech198]

People would be probably expected to buy the best/lowest price Apple watch just to get a better band alone...

I hate these cheap bands that come with the watch at low prices.. Sure, they may be able to change them, but its like walking into a shoe store, and they do not sell a single shoe with laces..... And you find its all Velcro instead..

 

[ZCT]

Apple launched the watch simultaneously in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK other than the US. The only folks who needed to be awake in the middle of the night to buy the watch were their US customers.

I don't believe I stated that EVERY customer who bought their watch had to get up in the middle of the night. But merely that customers did.

Which ever way you cut it, a large number of people had to stop what they were doing (even if that was sleeping), and jump online to order this in a fairly short window, to get their hands on the product.

My point being that if this product had no consumer appeal, why would so many people inconvenience themselves in this way just to buy something?

 

[Mildredop]

There's another conspiracy theorist on this board that I've argued with before on the validity of this belief... he agrees with you (though he also admitted that he thought the moon landing was a hoax).

I'm just saying. =P

To me, it makes good business sense. Strangle supply slightly to keep demand/interest/exclusivity high. I do it - I often tell clients I need to shuffle dates to make them think I'm busy and worth employing.

 

[mrex]

doesnt "sold out" mean that there was a store full of units and they all were bought? so what exactly is sold out? preorder tickets? units? what?

 

[2457282]

I ordered the black stainless in 38 mm online at about 12:04 am and my date is June. Am I to believe the black stainless is that popular?

probably a combination of popularity mixed with limited supply (and most likely very limited).

 

[Tycho24]

To me, it makes good business sense. Strangle supply slightly to keep demand/interest/exclusivity high. I do it - I often tell clients I need to shuffle dates to make them think I'm busy and worth employing.

It's likely that you CAN get away with it!!!
You are not a (coming up on) trillion dollar company!!!

Think about what leaks at Apple:
Pics.... info... emails... rumors... prototypes, etc.

If a conspiracy this HUGE (and epically sleazy, & potentially illegal) was going on at Apple, think how many people would have to be involved... literally dozens! Do you imagine Tim, up at 2am on a burner phone with a voice changer, giving special codes to people running Chinese factories, that mean "halt production until we speak again"? Lol. Too much Hollywood!!!!!!
The type of control you are assuming is near impossible.... & what if something actually did go wrong with production??? They wouldn't be able to easily recover because they had purposefully halted production of key components for the vague possibility that people would get more excited about something they can't have??!!
No. No. No. No. No. No.
Scarcity only works if there are NOT other viable options.
Example: no cars for sale in your state? You could sell one for whatever you want, if you have one! No Hondas in your state? Who cares..?? Toyota sales spike instead.
Get it??
There ARE alternatives to Apple Watch... each extra week they get pushed back means a bunch more Android Wear sell to people not prepared to wait. Apple Watch (like all of their products) is being manufactured at the most rapid rate they can manage by being the richest & most powerful tech company in history. They actually (wait for it...) WANT to sell their products!!!!!
They are NOT playing silly games, like you seem to think.
The ONLY game is: get as many of these made and sold and in people's hands as quickly as possible.

 

[NickUK69]

I have asked this same question on almost every forum I could find - no one has claimed a 4/24 solo date. Everyone (like myself) got the 4/24-5/8 window. If it slips to May, that's 9 months gestation from the announcement.

OK thanks.

 

[ZCT]

I think the Watch face and strap should have been sold as two separate items.

That way, rather than produce say 10x Sport/blue, 10x Sport/green and 10x Sport/white which potentially limits someone purchasing a watch or it "selling out" in a specific colour (as there would only be 10 available); there would be the option to purchase the watch (30 being available in this example) and then a strap of your choice. They could even have had a generic "cheap" strap that all watch faces come with (simple plastic) as a temporary measure should your chosen strap be out of stock.

That's never really been Apple's philosophy though has it?

They don't mind customization, but only on their terms.

This seems like a reasonable compromise. I was able to narrow down my choice to four that I liked, and then from there choose a specific model.

 

[vvswarup]

For those who claim that Apple is deliberately withholding supply to give an illusion of high demand, show me an example of that working. It's not like Apple can book revenue on customers waiting in line for a product. Also, if Apple produces too many units, they're just going to sit on the shelves. Unsold inventory costs Apple a lot of money.

The Apple Watch is a new product for Apple that is extremely tough to make. The tolerances must be unreal. Mass-producing a part with those unreal tolerances is just not easy. Also, multiple suppliers are probably involved with making the same component.

Also, in a sense the Apple Watch goes against Apple's DNA. Apple isn't big into customizability. But Apple departed from that philosophy with the Apple Watch because that wouldn't work out with a device as conspicuous as a watch. The need to offer customizability compounds the manufacturing problem because so many different bands have to be made. There are bound to be growing pains with such a product.

Based on the evidence, it doesn't seem to me like Apple is deliberately withholding supply in order to create demand. Apple is likely being very conservative, almost too conservative, with its estimates of demand that drive supply decisions. This results in insufficient product availability at launch. But IMO, it's better to have too little of a product than too much. If you have too little product, you're simply missing out on revenue to customers who have to wait for more product to be available. But if you have too much of a product, it's costing you money to store that product.

 

[AppleScruff1]

I think we are talking iPhone again. At very least I think this is going to be like the iPad where it sells in the 10s of millions every quarter. Not this generation though and not with what you can do with it now.

Some of the reviews have been incredibly shortsighted. For example, the reviewers complained that the Apps were a bit limited and buggy. The App developers literally didn't have a watch to test on (except for the handful that were invited to visit Apple for about a day) and the reviewer is complaining the Apps aren't polished. The reviewer might as well have added in the a sentence about the weather for all the relevance this will have by the end of June of this year. Within a week of the watch becoming available, the developers will update all their apps significantly.

I also don't think folks realize what a game changer Apple Pay and Siri on the wrist is going to be. Apple Pay will just become more widely available and therefor useful. And Siri is just going to get better at doing stuff. The watch is going to be indispensable in a year, I think.

I don't know if you've tried one on yet, but they are very nice in person. My wife and I did a walk in and were able try them on in a couple of minutes. There was no pressure on time taken at all and we were able to try on as many variations as we desired. I wish they weren't running in demo mode so we could have gotten a good feel for the interaction. They do have working models to play with, but you can't try them on.

I think the watch looks much better in person than it does in the photos. It is not bulky or awkward at all. The screen is crystal clear and quite sharp and easy to read. I really like the SS versions, the Milanese Loop band is cool and the black SS is probably my favorite looks wise. The Classic leather band is also very nice on the SS model.

The Edition is also very nice looking. Personally I think it more suited for a woman, but that's just my own taste. It really looks sharp with the Modern Buckle bands.

My wife liked the 38mm SS with either the Classic Buckle black leather and also the Milanese Loop. I think the SS version looks more elegant than the aluminum model, but again, that's just personal opinion. I prefer the 42mm size myself. If Imhad to chose the sport model, I would pick Space gray with a black band. And maybe add the line green strictly for fun at some point in time. My wife thinks I'm losing it the older I get.

Bottom line, I like the SS, but I don't know if it's a good value for me. I just know that in a year or so version 2 will make me think, why didn't I wait.

 

[TallManNY]

I don't know if you've tried one on yet, but they are very nice in person. My wife and I did a walk in and were able try them on in a couple of minutes. There was no pressure on time taken at all and we were able to try on as many variations as we desired. I wish they weren't running in demo mode so we could have gotten a good feel for the interaction. They do have working models to play with, but you can't try them on.

I think the watch looks much better in person than it does in the photos. It is not bulky or awkward at all. The screen is crystal clear and quite sharp and easy to read. I really like the SS versions, the Milanese Loop band is cool and the black SS is probably my favorite looks wise. The Classic leather band is also very nice on the SS model.

The Edition is also very nice looking. Personally I think it more suited for a woman, but that's just my own taste. It really looks sharp with the Modern Buckle bands.

My wife liked the 38mm SS with either the Classic Buckle black leather and also the Milanese Loop. I think the SS version looks more elegant than the aluminum model, but again, that's just personal opinion. I prefer the 42mm size myself. If Imhad to chose the sport model, I would pick Space gray with a black band. And maybe add the line green strictly for fun at some point in time. My wife thinks I'm losing it the older I get.

Bottom line, I like the SS, but I don't know if it's a good value for me. I just know that in a year or so version 2 will make me think, why didn't I wait.

I have not tried them on yet. My normal commute takes me through Grand Central which has an Apple Store in it, but I worked from home on Friday. So I will stop by sometime in this coming week. Looking at the pictures I'm inclined toward the SS. But it is a pretty significant expenditure for something that I can see becoming much much better very quickly.

On the other hand, if the device is as useful as I think is will (meaning I wear it every day) then the cost difference between the Sport and the SS is kind of meaningless. If it is a "one year watch", then I'm talking about $300 spread over a year. That isn't nothing, but a dollar a day I can afford. If it is a two year watch then 50 cents I can definitely afford. If the resale value recoups some of this cost difference, then even as a one year watch it is pretty easily justified. (If I can resell the SS and recoup $100 of the $300 cost difference between SS and Sport, then that might push me from the Space Grey Sport to the SS.)

On the other hand, if I'm not wearing this as my daily driver, then the whole cost becomes hard to justify at either price point. But I'm enough "all in" to the Apple ecosystem that not buying any watch is unlikely. The main question is if I wear it to work or not. I wear a suit to work and men in my line of work (and I'm not in my 20's) typically wear a nice watch. So there is an issue about if the watch will be appropriate. As it so happens, a sport focused watch is definitely appropriate where I work as the CEO runs marathons and has qualified for Boston. So I can wear the Sport and it will be understood by everyone as a health related product. The actual issue is that I fear that Apple Watch will perceived as so "fan boy" that running around with a $1,000 SS with Link will be considered a bit lame. I'm sure that many of my friends (who wear watches that cost well north of $5,000) will think it a bit lame if I drop $1,000 for an SS and Link.

I'm leaning toward SS and Classic buckle for $700. Since I'm not going to shower or swim with any of them, I don't need the Link band. It will probably be that or the Sport. Not that I have an automatic Hamilton (about an $800 watch) that I really like the way it looks. I've had this watch since 2008 and I love the way it looks. So I'm going to sacrifice some looks to switch to the Apple Watch. Also the Hamilton (with link band) is easy because it self winds and can be worn in shower and swimming. I basically only take it off for sports. It looks great (IMHO) and it goes with anything I'm wearing.

 

[AppleScruff1]

I have not tried them on yet. My normal commute takes me through Grand Central which has an Apple Store in it, but I worked from home on Friday. So I will stop by sometime in this coming week. Looking at the pictures I'm inclined toward the SS. But it is a pretty significant expenditure for something that I can see becoming much much better very quickly.

On the other hand, if the device is as useful as I think is will (meaning I wear it every day) then the cost difference between the Sport and the SS is kind of meaningless. If it is a "one year watch", then I'm talking about $300 spread over a year. That isn't nothing, but a dollar a day I can afford. If it is a two year watch then 50 cents I can definitely afford. If the resale value recoups some of this cost difference, then even as a one year watch it is pretty easily justified. (If I can resell the SS and recoup $100 of the $300 cost difference between SS and Sport, then that might push me from the Space Grey Sport to the SS.)

On the other hand, if I'm not wearing this as my daily driver, then the whole cost becomes hard to justify at either price point. But I'm enough "all in" to the Apple ecosystem that not buying any watch is unlikely. The main question is if I wear it to work or not. I wear a suit to work and men in my line of work (and I'm not in my 20's) typically wear a nice watch. So there is an issue about if the watch will be appropriate. As it so happens, a sport focused watch is definitely appropriate where I work as the CEO runs marathons and has qualified for Boston. So I can wear the Sport and it will be understood by everyone as a health related product. The actual issue is that I fear that Apple Watch will perceived as so "fan boy" that running around with a $1,000 SS with Link will be considered a bit lame. I'm sure that many of my friends (who wear watches that cost well north of $5,000) will think it a bit lame if I drop $1,000 for an SS and Link.

I'm leaning toward SS and Classic buckle for $700. Since I'm not going to shower or swim with any of them, I don't need the Link band. It will probably be that or the Sport. Not that I have an automatic Hamilton (about an $800 watch) that I really like the way it looks. I've had this watch since 2008 and I love the way it looks. So I'm going to sacrifice some looks to switch to the Apple Watch. Also the Hamilton (with link band) is easy because it self winds and can be worn in shower and swimming. I basically only take it off for sports. It looks great (IMHO) and it goes with anything I'm wearing.

I think you'll like the SS with the Classic buckle. And I'd like to hear your thoughts on the Milanese Loop too. I really like the looks of the black SS too. Another idea to ponder, buy the SS with 2 bands. You can change bands in 15 seconds, the attachment is really slick.

 

[RnSK]

What I find most interesting is the assumption that

Apple will do year-over-year updates on this product, when, looking at the history of Apple's line over all, most of what they make isn't actually updated this way at all...really only iPhone.

Especially because of what it is and how it is being sold.

Unless there is a radical change in battery technology, we're looking at I predict (could be wrong, but considering the logistics, tolerances, etc) minimum 18mos on a hardware bump - it is just too small and too thin* for much more battery with the current tech, and they've got a lot of room to grow on the software engineering side.

Don't think so? Check the product history. Basically you get an intro, speed bump, form-factor change, speed bump, but rarely does any line outside of the phone get yearly updates - it's been a huge pain point on the desktop line for many people for years.

We'll see

 

[s1m]

Apple will do year-over-year updates on this product, when, looking at the history of Apple's line over all, most of what they make isn't actually updated this way at all...really only iPhone.

And the iPad of course. Just looking at the average cycles:

iPad Air 331 days
iPad mini 362 days
iPhone 376 Days
iPod touch 292
Macbook Air 350 days
rMacbook Pro 250 days
iMac 342
Mac Mini 438
Macbook Pro 260 (although not updated for a very long time)

 

[totten76]

So much hate...can't everyone just accept the fact that Apple can't spawn a million watches at will. There's no Salem Witch trial voodoo going on here. Supply and demand, simple as that

 

[kingtj]

Umm, sure, but ....

How about those of us who pay our credit cards off in full each month so we don't pay any interest either -- but we know it's smarter to charge things to them than pay cash, so we can earn rewards points for money back?

"Credit culture" doesn't only mean people are spending beyond their means. Some of us use cards to our advantage to come out ahead ... perhaps taking advantage of the occasional 0% interest for 6 or 12 months offer out there too, so something bigger can be purchased today and paid off in installments without a penalty.

The concept of saving up for something has pretty much died with the credit culture. All my devices, including my Macs, are payed with cash. People think I'm rich, but I buy them just by putting away money each month. All you have to do is not live beyond your means and put away money. Do I get what I want right away? No, but I'm saving a ton of money over my life time not having to pay 10-20% interest.

 

[diegogaja]

Yes. But I like the white band too so it's a win-win for me.

So you have to pay extra to pair the silver sport model with a black band?

 

[TechZeke]

How about those of us who pay our credit cards off in full each month so we don't pay any interest either -- but we know it's smarter to charge things to them than pay cash, so we can earn rewards points for money back?

"Credit culture" doesn't only mean people are spending beyond their means. Some of us use cards to our advantage to come out ahead ... perhaps taking advantage of the occasional 0% interest for 6 or 12 months offer out there too, so something bigger can be purchased today and paid off in installments without a penalty.

There's always exceptions to the rule, so way to miss the point of my post. Also you're lying to yourself if you think the vast majority of the population pays off their credit card each month or takes advantage of 0% interest offers. If that wasn't the case, the credit card companies wouldn't be making billions. More power to you and those that take advantage though.