I've been reading a lot of posts where it is assumed that because Apple normally under-promise and over-deliver on their shipping estimates, that there is a strong possibility for launch day delivery for those in the "24/4 - 8/5" timeframe.
I hope I'm wrong but my view on this is pessimistic.
My feeling is that the first delivery of these watches will be at the later end of the "24/4 - 8/5" timeframe and in fact, no-one (or an extremely limited number of people) will receive their watch before the end of April. In is my impression that Apple have realised against all hope that, in the time since announcing the 24 April date, this date is impossible to meet.
When you think about it, when has an Apple product scheduled for release on a certain date never had this date as the delivery estimate for the first pre-orders?
If the first pre-orders had been given a formal delivery date later than 24/4, they would have left themselves open to accusation of false advertising of the release date. If you were able to walk into a retail store and purchase a watch on launch day, then they would have been covered. However, clearly this has been impossible for them to offer.
They therefore have 2 alternatives - announce formally that the launch is actually delayed by a week or 2 and leave themselves open to criticism in the press OR take the softer approach... have it that devices START shipping on 24 Apr and, if questioned, can argue that release was "technically" 24 Apr.
As has been frequently commented on these forums, as time has moved on since the Watch announcement in September, Apple began to change tact in their promotional pages for the Watch from "early 2015" to simply "2015". Again, as was commented, many judged this to be mean that Apple were perhaps less confident of meeting production targets for the watch.
Then, as time moved on, Apple seemed to adopt a seemingly haphazard release strategy (when compared with previous lanuches) - a second release announcement 6 months after the first that didn't offer really any new information beyond pricing, announce pre-orders to begin 1 month after this, then have the actual release 2 weeks later... a launch which now also seems to be all over the place.
Again, I hope I'm wrong but the vibes given by Apple seem to indicate that they are struggling to meet their own internal targets for roll-out of this product and are having to back-pedal.
I hope I'm wrong but my view on this is pessimistic.
My feeling is that the first delivery of these watches will be at the later end of the "24/4 - 8/5" timeframe and in fact, no-one (or an extremely limited number of people) will receive their watch before the end of April. In is my impression that Apple have realised against all hope that, in the time since announcing the 24 April date, this date is impossible to meet.
When you think about it, when has an Apple product scheduled for release on a certain date never had this date as the delivery estimate for the first pre-orders?
If the first pre-orders had been given a formal delivery date later than 24/4, they would have left themselves open to accusation of false advertising of the release date. If you were able to walk into a retail store and purchase a watch on launch day, then they would have been covered. However, clearly this has been impossible for them to offer.
They therefore have 2 alternatives - announce formally that the launch is actually delayed by a week or 2 and leave themselves open to criticism in the press OR take the softer approach... have it that devices START shipping on 24 Apr and, if questioned, can argue that release was "technically" 24 Apr.
As has been frequently commented on these forums, as time has moved on since the Watch announcement in September, Apple began to change tact in their promotional pages for the Watch from "early 2015" to simply "2015". Again, as was commented, many judged this to be mean that Apple were perhaps less confident of meeting production targets for the watch.
Then, as time moved on, Apple seemed to adopt a seemingly haphazard release strategy (when compared with previous lanuches) - a second release announcement 6 months after the first that didn't offer really any new information beyond pricing, announce pre-orders to begin 1 month after this, then have the actual release 2 weeks later... a launch which now also seems to be all over the place.
Again, I hope I'm wrong but the vibes given by Apple seem to indicate that they are struggling to meet their own internal targets for roll-out of this product and are having to back-pedal.
, with the iPhone you always know if you have a release day delivery date. The later dates may be a little wishy-washy. And they deliver a whole lot more (again, IIRC) iPhones on opening day that they are planning on AWs. I might have some of those old email laying around. But I don't care enough to look for them. I agree with the OP. If for no other reason than to manage expectations and not be overly disappointed. Hoping to be wrong, however! 
