Did you guys read this? Its clear Apple has had it with the people who line up only to buy a bunch of their products and ship them to China or put them online to make a profit while their real customers get left out in the cold many times. They are probably also tired of having to deal with huge lines and large crowds and its working. The news is showing local LA stores that would have normally had huge lines today for the Watch, no lines at all. I wonder how this will effect the iPhone going forward.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/apple/apple-watch-macbook-online/
A statement from Apples senior vice president of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts has taken that sentiment even further, and has added the new 12-inch Macbook for good measure. Ahrendts sent Apple Store staff a memo, titled Get in line online, which reads: The days of waiting in line and crossing fingers for a product are over for our customers. The Apple Store app and our online store make it much easier to purchase Apple Watch and the new MacBook. Customers will know exactly when and where their product arrives
The other issue is now you cannot buy a new Apple product with cash. The federal government forced Apple stores to accept cash years ago, and it seems now Apple has found a way to get around that. I don't like this at all, because cash is currency and I should be able to use it in the store. Of course, if the store doesn't "have it" for sale then I am forced to use a credit card. That is not right.
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In all fairness, the MacBook is a new product too. Uses no parts from existing MBs I know of, built new from the ground up.
No, it's not a new product. It's a new laptop. Please stop staying the rMB is a new "product", it's not. It's just anther laptop model from Apple. The iWatch is a new product.
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If I had to guess, I'd say someone didn't want any chance of distracting anyone from the Apple Watch launch. That's the new product line, and I'd bet they want all hands on deck to be focused on making sure it sticks.
Which is not to say I AGREE with it, I'd have loved to see what I'm buying in person before nabbing one. You can only get so much from video reviews.
PS: my MacBook shipped from Shanghai, 2:08 CST this morning. Apple's website on a space grey base model still says "ships 1-3 days" [at time of posting]
So they HAVE stock, even if it is only specific models.
Some have said this but I don't believe it. If they wanted to keep the two devices separate all they had to do was change the launch date for the rMB. There is no reason for them to have had the rMB launch and the demo iWatch on the same day.
Also, every single person I've spoken to who is interested in the rMB does not give two hoots about the iWatch. Even being at the store two days in a row many were outside waiting for the store to open. When staff asked who was here to try on the iWatch it was barely anyone (1-2 people out of 15 people).
The two devices are targeting two separate types of people. I've been in the Apple store twice and haven't even looked at the iWatch, didn't even walk by the display.