Apple Watch will launch on April 24, preorders and hands-on previews start April 10

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited March 2015
Users will be able to own an Apple Watch in nine countries starting April 24, but they'll be able to try out the wrist-worn device in special previews starting at Apple Stores two weeks earlier.




Apple Watch will be available on Friday, April 24 in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, and Japan.

Apple Watch preorders will begin two weeks earlier, on April 10. The device will start at $349 for the 38-millimeter Sport version, while the larger 42-millimeter size will start at $399. The mid-range stainless steel Apple Watch will start at $549 and $599, with higher prices ranging based on band selection.

Finally, the high-end Apple Watch Edition will be available in extremely limited quantities, and will carry a $10,000 starting price tag.

"Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology and we think our customers are going to love it," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We can't wait for people to start wearing Apple Watch to easily access information that matters, to interact with the world, and to live a better day by being more aware of their daily activity than ever before."

April 10 will also mark the start of try-ons, by appointment, at Apple's retail stores. The device will also be available to preview at Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Isetan in Tokyo, and Selfridges in London.

Those same department store shop-in-shops, as well as other boutiques in major cities across the world, will carry the Apple Watch on its April 24 launch date. Other partners include colette in Paris, Dover Street Market in London and Tokyo, Maxfield in Los Angeles, and The Corner in Berlin.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21
    jfc1138jfc1138 Posts: 3,090member
    The Apple watch apps being available to test drive on an iPhone is a clever demo route.
  • Reply 2 of 21
    Well, sorry Apple, but I found that keynote redundant.

    The little extra information I gleaned about the Watch wasn't keynote worthy, in my opinion. Why no demo of the Watch on the wrist? I still haven't seen an official demo by Apple of it being used properly, which is a serious omission. Seeing Kevin demo it from a watch stand is divorced from reality. One of the great things about the Jurassic films was the way in which they always started with humans touching the bones of the dinosaurs, to create the impression of getting as close to a real life dinosaur as possible, to bring them to life. We needed that with the Watch, and didn't get it.

    Regardless, I wish you all the best for your products this year and hope it may be as successful as the last, if not more so.
  • Reply 3 of 21
    oberpongooberpongo Posts: 182member
    Nice price for the steel version. And the gold version is just priced right to skim all those super rich and kill the pimping aftermarket.
  • Reply 4 of 21
    iaeeniaeen Posts: 588member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by oberpongo View Post



    Nice price for the steel version. And the gold version is just priced right to skim all those super rich and kill the pimping aftermarket.



    I was a little disappointed with the steel price. I was hoping for around $500 with a non-sports band.

  • Reply 5 of 21
    A little high on the low end, but doable.
  • Reply 6 of 21
    justin ejustin e Posts: 10member

    The reason, I believe it was demo'ed from a stand is they have a special way to project the demo version on screen...I would think...Im not concerned about it.

  • Reply 7 of 21
    carthusiacarthusia Posts: 583member

    I would love the know the price of the Milanese Loop. I want that on the ?Watch in black stainless steel. Some say the link bracelet will be the most expensive, but that Loop bracelet looks extremely hard to manufacture. I'm guessing about $500 for that band alone, pushing my ?Watch of choice up to a grand.

     

    I might need to make due with the ?Watch Steel-Black with the black fluoroelastomer band. I'm more of a $500 watch guy than a $1,000+ watch guy and more concerned with the durability of the case than the band. If it only lasted about 4-5 years, I wouldn't mind.

  • Reply 8 of 21
    darendinodarendino Posts: 126member

    Chrisy Turlington was cringe worthy, can't even hold a conversation.

  • Reply 9 of 21
    darendinodarendino Posts: 126member

    Apple Store is up in UK, Sport is £300 for 38mm and £340 for 42mm - so £10 per mm

  • Reply 10 of 21
    iaeeniaeen Posts: 588member

    http://store.apple.com/us/buy-watch/apple-watch?product=MJ3Y2LL/A&step=detail

     

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Carthusia View Post

     

    I would love the know the price of the Milanese Loop. I want that on the ?Watch in black stainless steel. Some say the link bracelet will be the most expensive, but that Loop bracelet looks extremely hard to manufacture. I'm guessing about $500 for that band alone, pushing my ?Watch of choice up to a grand.

     

    I might need to make due with the ?Watch Steel-Black with the black fluoroelastomer band. I'm more of a $500 watch guy than a $1,000+ watch guy and more concerned with the durability of the case than the band. If it only lasted about 4-5 years, I wouldn't mind.


     

    $700, black link is $1,100.

     

    Edit: I don't think you can get the grey watch W/O the link bracelet.

  • Reply 11 of 21
    cabassicabassi Posts: 27member
    @darendino She did fine. Not everyone can be as good as Bono. Wait....
  • Reply 12 of 21
    paul94544paul94544 Posts: 1,027member
    How do you know that an airplane is full of AI forum posters

    When the engines stop working it keeps on whining
  • Reply 13 of 21
    paul94544paul94544 Posts: 1,027member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Benjamin Frost View Post



    Well, sorry Apple, but I found that keynote redundant.



    The little extra information I gleaned about the Watch wasn't keynote worthy, in my opinion. Why no demo of the Watch on the wrist? I still haven't seen an official demo by Apple of it being used properly, which is a serious omission. Seeing Kevin demo it from a watch stand is divorced from reality. One of the great things about the Jurassic films was the way in which they always started with humans touching the bones of the dinosaurs, to create the impression of getting as close to a real life dinosaur as possible, to bring them to life. We needed that with the Watch, and didn't get it.



    Regardless, I wish you all the best for your products this year and hope it may be as successful as the last, if not more so.

    Mr Frosty - you are slipping, your last sentence was positive! C'mon we expect a bit more doom and gloom from you !

  • Reply 14 of 21

    It's an interesting strategy to say the least, I wonder when appointments will be up and how quickly they will fill up? But to still have to wait 2 weeks to get it after a try on? What gives?

  • Reply 15 of 21
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    Two watches already marked as favorites. Steel 42 with black sport band for me and 38 with soft pink band for the wife. I will get a leather band later.
  • Reply 16 of 21
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Benjamin Frost View Post



    Well, sorry Apple, but I found that keynote redundant.



    The little extra information I gleaned about the Watch wasn't keynote worthy, in my opinion. Why no demo of the Watch on the wrist? I still haven't seen an official demo by Apple of it being used properly, which is a serious omission. Seeing Kevin demo it from a watch stand is divorced from reality. One of the great things about the Jurassic films was the way in which they always started with humans touching the bones of the dinosaurs, to create the impression of getting as close to a real life dinosaur as possible, to bring them to life. We needed that with the Watch, and didn't get it.



    Regardless, I wish you all the best for your products this year and hope it may be as successful as the last, if not more so.



    It's probably pretty difficult to film a watch demonstration on someone's arm. Arms move and you don't get multiple chances in a live demo to get the perfect shot.

     

    In movies like Jurassic Park, the cinematographer can basically take as many tries as necessary to get the perfect shot. Plus, it just needs to look good, it doesn't have to be real. You get a small display, shove it into a watchlike chassis, then play back recorded video/computer graphics to make it look like the watch is reacting to the wearer's instructions.

     

    Don't compare real life with Hollywood. Remember the movie WarGames? That supercomputer called WOPR that launched nukes? Guess what? It was just a box of blinking lights. It wasn't a supercomputer.

     

    You're slipping Bibi, but an entertaining post nonetheless, even if you are clueless about live technology demonstrations and what happens in movies.

  • Reply 17 of 21

    Apple Watch Uranus http://imgur.com/3yja9fs

  • Reply 18 of 21
    mr omr o Posts: 1,046member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Benjamin Frost View Post



    Why no demo of the Watch on the wrist? I still haven't seen an official demo by Apple of it being used properly, which is a serious omission. Seeing Kevin demo it from a watch stand is divorced from reality. 

     

    I agree with the demo. It was indeed a bit weird to see Kevin demo the watch from the desk. Perhaps it was because there was a cable connected to the watch to display the interactions on the big screen in real time? 

     

    Another strange thing is that Kevin got notifications from the watch despite him not wearing it.  Correct me if I am wrong but I've read somewhere that the watch sensors need to touch your skin in order to get notifications? Which would have been an awesome feature.

  • Reply 19 of 21
    mr o wrote: »
    Why no demo of the Watch on the wrist? I still haven't seen an official demo by Apple of it being used properly, which is a serious omission. Seeing Kevin demo it from a watch stand is divorced from reality. 

    I agree with the demo. It was indeed a bit weird to see Kevin demo the watch from the desk. <span style="line-height:1.4em;">Perhaps it was because there was a cable connected to the watch to display the interactions on the big screen in real time? </span>


    Another strange thing is that Kevin got notifications from the watch despite him not wearing it.  Correct me if I am wrong but I've read somewhere that the watch sensors need to touch your skin in order to get notifications? Which would have been an awesome feature.

    I think the demo didn't really show the watch being used properly; it was just on rails. Which is a shame, because it makes you question the validity of everything you see.

    With the original iPhone demo, Jobs used it live, for real. That's why the staff were terrified it would go wrong. Jobs had balls.
  • Reply 20 of 21
    When and how can I reserve my 15 minute "try-on"?
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