There were 38 different Apple Watch+band+size combinations offered by Apple on pre-order day, April 10th. Of those 38 Watch combinations, only 18 of those Watch+band+size combinations began to ship on April 24th. Most delays are being caused by the band, although I'm certain that the Watch Edition models may be facing a different set of issues.
From what I can see shipped on this forum, it appears that all of the fluoroelastomer bands (white, black, blue, green and pink) are shipping. The Classic Buckle band is shipping. The Stainless Steel Link Bracelet, Space Black Stainless Steel Link Bracelet, Modern Buckle and Leather Loop bands are NOT shipping. Any band that isn't shipping is causing the Apple Watch, that's paired to that band, to NOT ship as well. (Also, it doesn't appear that any of the Apple Edition Watches have shipped with their corresponding, custom bands).
You might think that Apple would contact the customers who ordered the bands, that were delayed on launch day, and ask them if they'd like to substitute a different band in order to receive either their aluminum Sports Watch, or their Stainless Steel ordered watch. But no, Apple has not reached out to their customers to help them with the delayed introduction of certain bands.
I'm still very frustrated at the fact that others are actually receiving their Apple Watches, while I sit and wait, simply due to the fact that I didn't order the "right" band.
P.S. Let's not get into the "you didn't look at the projected delivery when you ordered" argument again. This is simply a failure of Apple setting expectations of ALL watches being available on April 24th, and only delivering 18 out of the 38 Watch+band+size combinations.
(Note: Updated note to include sizes at launch. There are 42mm and 38mm creating 38 separate combinations of Watch+band+size that Apple offered at pre-launch. Only a 47% launch availability rate after the first week that Apple has shipped. And that's not counting the zero (0) availability in the stores, which, to my knowledge, has never happened during an Apple product launch. I hope Tim Cook and his executive team is holding a lot of meetings to decide why they thought they'd be ready to launch on April 24th, who didn't follow through on the watch band production issues and why this whole Apple Watch launch date has been mismanaged from a Watch+band product availability perspective.)
1) As others have said, Apple gave you a delivery estimate when you purchased the watch and it was your choice to purchase it. If they beat that estimate, they should be commended; if they meet the estimate, you should be perfectly satisfied; and if they miss it, you will have something to complain about. But given almost no one can yet claim Apple didnt meet the expectations they presented at the time of purchase I have exactly no sympathy for you and you have no legitimate grievance that it wont be shipping to you weeks before it was promised.
2) You have absolutely no idea how many watches were made, how many bands were made, how many were ordered, how many have shipped, and in what combinations. If you think the anecdotal and anonymous reports, from lets say (charitably) 100 people on this thread, gives you enough information to reasonably speculate on the status of the predicted over 2 million pre-orders, then Id highly recommend you sign up for a very basic statistics course ASAP. The people on this board are not a representative sample, and even if they were, they are of a sufficient size to draw any conclusions. So all this I cant believe Apple didnt X, Y, or Z is bogus. You dont know, so dont act like you do.
3) Just because your particular model wasnt in the April 24th shipping window when pre-orders went live doesnt mean that easily avoidable mistakes were made or that the launch day should have been pushed back. A lot of people have gotten their Apple Watches, and more are getting them every day
that is great for them. The fact that you werent able to get yours when you wanted it doesnt mean that everyone else should have had to have waited until they had enough to fulfill your specific order. "If I don't get an Apple Watch, no one should" is a ****** attitude, and all to common on these forums.
4) Given this is a whole new product category, Apple had to make some very very tough guesses about how many of any particular model to make. There is almost no precedent or frame of reference that they can look to build their assumptions. Even if somehow they had managed to guess perfectly which of the dozens of combinations were going to be pre-ordered and in what quantities they still have to deal with the fact that sometimes there can be unexpected issues in the production of a product, in the supply chain that provides the materials for that product, in the quality assurance of that product, etc, etc. There are tons of variables that could have led to some combination of models not being produced in the quantities they desired. There is also the fact that some of combinations are simply more difficult to make then others (the link bracelets are brushed BY HAND). In other words, it is not shocking that some models are more difficult to get then others.
5) None of this is new, or unique to Apple. Every year certain models of iPhone are constrained for months after they launch due to some combination of the factors above (and they also come in far fewer combinations). The same has been true of virtually any successful product Apple has ever made.
6) Selling the watches and bands separately *may* have given them flexibility to adapt to unexpected fluctuations in demand, but the shipping times for each band on the online store certainly indicate that it would not have solved the problem. It would not have been without a cost, however, as it would fly in the face of how people have traditionally conceive of purchasing a watch (or really any fashion item I suppose). Apple may have been able to reduce the quoted ship times for a SMALL number customers in the first month or two of launch, but they would have done so at risk of hurting how the product was perceived (and purchased) in the long-term.
7) The only thing we know for sure is that Apple has not missed a single ship date it promised, and has beaten the ship dates for many. Hardly a disaster in my eyes. Why Apple would contact you when they don't believe they are in danger of missing their ship date is beyond me.