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Delivery Dates 4/24-5/8
- Thread starter iMacoo7
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Erm... Says you who is commenting on a Mac Rumours forum about precisely the subject you're berating the OP of commenting about?
We are all in the same ****** ship. It's horrible waiting for clear confirmation as to when they will be delivered instead of just a range. But that's the way it is! There isn't any point moaning about it.
I haven't pre-ordered anything from apple for a while, or this is my first time pre-ordering from apple
Everyone has lots of questions. Obviously. And, everyone is speculating at this point. What I'm saying is Apple could be doing a better job. A lot better. Their stores can't explain the process; their CS team can't answer questions. That's a very poor process.
They should tell me the watch has moved from warehouse X to warehouse Y. Amazon does. Kohl's does. LL Bean does, etc.
What if it's not moved warehouses. Are you expecting an update that just says 'all's fine here, just chilling' every 2 days?
Maybe the siri in your phone should be communicating with the siri on the new watch to make sure it's nice and warm (but not too warm).
You should read this thread... https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1868407/
It's very possible that updates can't be given because Apple is doing a BTO process. Makes the most sense of any speculations I've read on this forum and elsewhere.
Amazon does no such thing. They tell you when the product is shipped to you. Any staging / movement of the item prior to shipping is most definitely not shared with you.
You were told by Apple that your product will arrive 4/24 to 5/8. When it is shipped, you will be told. If it will not arrive during that two week window, you will be told.
Until you hear otherwise, you can continue to expect your item to arrive within the originally quoted time frame and you will be told when it ships. This is no more or less communication than any other retailer. Everything is still on track for what they originally told you. You don't need another communication that tells you everything is the same as you were told before. That's superfluous.
Of course we all want to know the EXACT day we will get our product, but Apple doesn't actually control that -- the shipping companies do. When the shipping companies get handed the product, you'll know your delivery date.
As for the retail stores, what part of the "process" are they having trouble explaining? Your order your product online, and when Apple's made your Watch, they ship it to you. Sounds simple enough to me.
What questions can their CS team not answer? (Other than the exact day you'll get your product.) When Apple has determined the day your product has shipped and you'll receive it, they'll *TELL* you. Asking Customer Service reps the answer to things that haven't yet been determined is a waste of everyone's time.
Any one else curious to decode their watch serial number to see the build week? I'm guessing week 13 / 3/22-3/28. For no other reason that I think they had some sort of delay and are building these suckers as fast as they possibly can.
This is a very plausible theory. Apple has absolutely no idea what the product mix will look like across the THIRTY-EIGHT different SKUs they have made available.
There is no product line to compare to.
There are no past data available to reference.
Apple has tons of data on product mix by storage capacity.
Apple has tons of data on product mix by cellular carrier.
Apple even has tons of data on product mix by black / white / gold colors.
They DO NOT have data on watch face size: 38 mm vs. 42 mm.
They DO NOT have data on aluminum / stainless steel / gold.
They DO NOT have data on fluoroelastomer / classic leather / loop leather / modern leather / Milanese / links.
They DO NOT have data on colors for wearable devices.
Apple has never launched a product like Apple Watch before. They had very little valuable data on product mix until they began taking orders.
Using a BTO process where all Apple Watch orders are only finished after ordering is certainly plausible. This would explain the two week window even for early orders.
Another theory, one I like a little more, is that manufacturing is not following a predictable ramp / output. Some days they're manufacturing more than others. They do not know exactly how many watches will be completed by a certain date until they get there.
Apple knows the drop-dead day to ship product from China to USA for launch day delivery. What they don't know is how many watches will be ready by this day. So they are literally waiting for the last minute to move product to the USA for launch, and this is why they can't tell you whether or not you'll get launch day delivery -- they don't even know that yet themselves.
If Apple knew, they would tell you. They don't yet. That's why the two week window for launch delivery.
Whether that's because every watch is BTO, or Apple is just trying to manufacture as many as possible up until the very last minute, I don't know which is which. Either way, the reason for the uncertainty in delivery dates is because there is uncertainty in the ability to manufacture them.
IMHO it's a manufacturing issue holding things up. Low yield on screens or something along that line.
Do agree with others that it would have seemed to have been easier to have the purchase be a two step process. Choose your watch, choose your band. Then ship them separately and let the user put it together. This would eliminate the problem of having say SS watches with pink sport bands piled up when people want SS and a black band.
I know that's not how traditional watches are sold, watch and band separately, but the Watch is not a traditional watch.
Do agree with others that it would have seemed to have been easier to have the purchase be a two step process. Choose your watch, choose your band. Then ship them separately and let the user put it together. This would eliminate the problem of having say SS watches with pink sport bands piled up when people want SS and a black band.
I know that's not how traditional watches are sold, watch and band separately, but the Watch is not a traditional watch.
Well folks, it's the halfway mark and still feels like forever. Here's to another week of trying to keep myself (unsuccessfully) busy. 
Had a chat with an Apple online rep today and here is the snapshot. Apparently we won't receive our watches on the 24th?? That's weird
Yeah not buying that, why would they have watch required classes on the 24th then?
Had a chat with an Apple online rep today and here is the snapshot. Apparently we won't receive our watches on the 24th?? That's weird
Very nice first post. 7/10.
Had a chat with an Apple online rep today and here is the snapshot. Apparently we won't receive our watches on the 24th?? That's weird
I don't buy it.....That means no one will have an Apple Watch on April 24th? The supposed launch date?
For people who like to maniacally check their order status, I highly recommend the deliveries app for iOS or Mac OS.
Makes checking, and sharing status a lot easier.
Makes checking, and sharing status a lot easier.
As per the representative, they will ship out on the 24th. I think the representative doesn't have all the information!
Though I doubt it too, they DID remove the "arriving 4-24-15" language from their promo materials.
Why do people keep on posting Apple Store chat transcripts as if it's an official Apple Press release? By now it should be known that time and time again they're wrong.
Had a chat with an Apple online rep today and here is the snapshot. Apparently we won't receive our watches on the 24th?? That's weird
That goes against every Apple launch. This is my 8th pre-order item from Apple. Though the date range thing is somewhat of an anomaly for them, Apple usually does a pretty good job at launch. I think you were chatting with an Apple Customer Service newbie.
Says the guy who just spent $350-1000 on an accessory for an iPhone...
Not my app, but I really enjoyed their dashboard widget back in the day and I like getting push notifications for status updates on my shipments so it was worth it to me.