Taking a strong stance, Segall writes that Apple’s April 24 launch date is wholly misleading. And truthfully, it’s hard to disagree.
Apparently, very few models of Apple Watch were ever scheduled to ship on April 24th. The Apple Watch Sport (likely the most popular model) appeared to be unavailable from the first moment — with a delay that will likely be a full month.
Nothing enhances the customer experience like plain, simple honesty. Apple has known all along what models would be available in what quantities. There was no reason to lead people to a false expectation.
What Apple did feels “tricky,” which is never a good thing. Even today, Apple’s homepage says “Available April 24th.” Available in the sense that you can see one in the store, perhaps, but certainly not in the common use of the word.
A lot of this is just common sense. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that a company will create bad feelings when it hypes a product for months and then changes expectations at the very last second. Literally. It feels manipulative.
Without question, the Apple Watch rollout is the most staggered and confusing Apple product launch we’ve seen yet.
In Apple’s defense, launching a completely new product is not an easy feat, especially one as involved and complex as the Apple Watch. Often, it takes some time to work out all the manufacturing kinks. What’s more, because the Apple Watch is so new, Apple doesn’t yet have a gauge as to which models might be the most popular. Which is to say, it would make sense for Apple to slowly but surely ramp up supply once they get a better grasp on which models will be in high demand.
That’s all well and good, but as Segall relays himself, throwing out an April 24 launch when most people interested in the device may have to wait until June (or May if they’re lucky) seems like a bad joke.
