Sports with White band and black sport with black band. The colored bands... dunno how popular they will be.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Which will sell out quickest?
- Thread starter Hargobind
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
What are your thoughts about me going into an Apple Store on launch day and actually walking out with an Apple watch? (serious question).
Although I plan on purchasing the Apple Watch I'm still undecided on band. I didn't want to pre-order because the Apple rep on chat told me I'd have to take the entire watch in to exchange just the band. So availability in the store would be crucial.
The last thing I'd want to hear is "We're out of stock and wont have any for a month" leaving me in a position where I can't even return the watch for a different band.
For that reason I think they will have plenty of stock on hand. That said, it may not be a bad idea to try to snag one of the reservations between April 10 and 23.
This one will be interesting because it sounds like it is launching in more than just America that day. However, in some ways this one is more simple than the phones because they do not have to deal with true hardware differences for each carrier and judge how many to give to each individual phone company and have them ready on the same day.
Apple will just have the Apple Stores to stock plus a handful of Watch Only stores they are rumored to be opening. There are only TWO sets of internals based on sizes. And just 3 casings. Each Casing in 2 colors.
There will be many millions of internals manufactured and far less components than a phone to deal with. So, unless there is something I am forgetting there are only 12 different watches to churn out. I think there were a lot more different phones to deal with each model available to each carrier.
I'm sure it will not be too hard to get any base model with sports band but the wait could be for some of the bands if they take as long to make as Apple claims.
I seriously think the Edition model will be the toughest for them to plan. The interesting balance of that is that some premium items have to be ordered months out. But some who want that are going to insist on day one.
I think the bottleneck might be how many Fed Ex can handle in a day. I'm hoping they have gotten millions into the US before ship day so they can ship from multiple distribution centers but have no idea how that works.
Apple will just have the Apple Stores to stock plus a handful of Watch Only stores they are rumored to be opening. There are only TWO sets of internals based on sizes. And just 3 casings. Each Casing in 2 colors.
There will be many millions of internals manufactured and far less components than a phone to deal with. So, unless there is something I am forgetting there are only 12 different watches to churn out. I think there were a lot more different phones to deal with each model available to each carrier.
I'm sure it will not be too hard to get any base model with sports band but the wait could be for some of the bands if they take as long to make as Apple claims.
I seriously think the Edition model will be the toughest for them to plan. The interesting balance of that is that some premium items have to be ordered months out. But some who want that are going to insist on day one.
I think the bottleneck might be how many Fed Ex can handle in a day. I'm hoping they have gotten millions into the US before ship day so they can ship from multiple distribution centers but have no idea how that works.
??? this may not be as popular and the SS version with leather Loop at £599 might not sell out as quick is what i'm hoping. It's either that or try one on in the Apple store and then order one online when i get back home.
The rest of the phrase goes "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
I was commenting on your comment about this idea not working for all of the iPhone and iPad launches that you've tried. If you want to be guaranteed a watch on launch day, plan ahead.
You are right that there are only twelve watch models to turn out, but they are being packaged with bands, which makes it much harder to have enough of each watch+band combination on hand. I'm sure many stores are going to run out of particular combinations, and different stores will run out of different combinations. And in places like New York with many Apple stores in the area, people are going to be hopping from store to store in search of the combination they want.
As for FedEx, they will be fine. Apple moves their shipments through both UPS and FedEx during product launches, and they've got the logistics all worked out. They do this every year for iPhone and iPad launches. If you haven't followed the shipments before, wait until people put in their preorders and start tracking their orders. I'm sure there'll be a shipment tracking thread here. It's great fun, and you'll learn exactly how these mass shipments work.
I'm sure you are correct about the Stores. They will obviously have a ton on first day with an assortment of colors. Could you imagine waiting in line for hours to get up there as they only have 38mm lime green left? ICK
I was thinking about the pre-orders. They can have millions ready to box and have 15 days to do it with the available parts.
That will suck big time, lol. I hope the stores have tickets like they do for iPhone launches, so that doesn't happen!
Well... I think it's inevitable that preorders are going to run out at some point. That could happen five minutes after preorders open, or maybe a week into the preordering process, but logistically, there's no way to meet the demand 100% on launch day.
I said this in some other thread, but say, Apple expects to sell 10 million watches for the year. So they set up their factories to make 1 million watches a month. If they start producing and stockpiling watches three months before launch, they still have only 3 million watches ready at launch.
And with a new product like the watch, that many people have been waiting for for a long time, it's likely that of the 10 million people who plan to buy it this year, at least half, if not more, want to have it on launch day.
Same thing with the bands -- just even harder, because there are more types of bands, and harder to predict which band will be in more demand.
And they can't use all their stock for preorders, they have to save some to sell in stores. So, I will be VERY VERY surprised if preorders do not run out.
it actually isn't.
but regarding the watch, it'll probably be hard for a lot of people to pre-order with so many questions about size and bands. i think people will need to try it on before buying. and i also think demand here in these forums aren't representative of demand in the real world. i just don't hear people talking about the watch like i do the phone or the tablet (anecdotal, i know, but still). i'd be surprised if any one model did sell out.
This is what I meant I don't think I've heard anyone of the people I know say that they are going to get a Apple Watch and no one at univeristy has said it either. I'm hoping this is the case so that I can pick up a Stainless Steel with Leather Loop Watch. Here in the UK that particular watch is selling for £599 so I'm guessing it might put a few people off.
I'll be surprised if they sell 1-2 million in the first weekend worldwide. Then another 1-2 million for the rest of the year. Less than 5 million for all of 2015. May not seem like a lot, but it will still put Apple as the leading Smartwatch maker.
I don't know about selling out, but it looks like the Stainless Steel (Apple Watch) version is getting a lot of attention, just like the Sport, and as I suspected there are way more combinations that people are buying with that version. Of course I also think a lot of extra watch bands will be purchased for all versions, that are not on the survey! So someone could buy 2-5 extra bands for their watch right?
https://forums.macrumors.com/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=11859
Looks like the Sport and Stainless are close in total numbers!
https://forums.macrumors.com/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=11859
Looks like the Sport and Stainless are close in total numbers!
Wow those who want one guaranteed for launch day may want to swap away from the Space Grey Sport 
The preorders won't be nearly as feverish as for the iPhone. Everyone needs a phone, knows what the iPhone can do and there are only a few options, so it is easy to order sight unseen. The iPhone is also only $200 in perceived money outlay. The watch is not a critical purchase and is fairly expensive for an impulse buy. People will want to see it, touch it, and compare options before buying.
Back in 2007, nobody had ever seen or held an iPhone, or had a clear idea what it could do, and it was way overpriced for a phone -- yet lines stretched around blocks. I know, just because it happened that way for the iPhone, doesn't mean it will for the watch. But there's always the possibility that history will repeat itself.
Such a shame people will go to the store for a sports watch with one colour of straps, only to be told, sorry out of stock, but we do have sports watches in stock with a band color you don't want.
However, good news, we do have the color bands you want as optional extras in separate packs you can buy.
If only they listened to me, and did not box watches and straps, pre-packed in colour combinations at the factory, this would not happen
Be interesting......
However, good news, we do have the color bands you want as optional extras in separate packs you can buy.
If only they listened to me, and did not box watches and straps, pre-packed in colour combinations at the factory, this would not happen
Be interesting......