Second wave of online-only Apple Watch preorders rumored to start in Italy, other countries May 8
Plans for Apple's international retail stores appear to suggest that the company will begin taking preorders for the Apple Watch in more countries around the world starting on Friday, May 8.
Apple apparently plans to set up display tables for the Apple Watch in its stores in time for the May 8 start of preorders, according to an internal source that spoke with Italian Apple enthusiast site iSpazio. Like in the U.S. and elsewhere, users will be able to try on the Apple Watch in stores to see what size and style suits them best.
The report did not indicate when those preorders might begin to ship. But in countries where users can currently place an order for the Apple Watch, most models are not scheduled to ship until June or later.
As with in the U.S. and other launch countries, preorders for the Apple Watch are expected to be online-only in the new countries. Beyond Italy, it's unknown what countries might be included in the rumored second wave.
But if last year's international rollout of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are any indication, there could be some 22 new countries where Apple Watch preorders begin. Last year, Italy was in the second wave of the iPhone 6 launch, along with Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Apple Watch officially launches this Friday in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, and the U.K. And though Italy won't be a part of the first wave, Apple has already begun promoting there, with marketing head Phil Schiller and designer Marc Newson making an appearance at the Salone del Mobile furniture design fair in Milan last week, both wearing the Apple Watch.
Apple apparently plans to set up display tables for the Apple Watch in its stores in time for the May 8 start of preorders, according to an internal source that spoke with Italian Apple enthusiast site iSpazio. Like in the U.S. and elsewhere, users will be able to try on the Apple Watch in stores to see what size and style suits them best.
The report did not indicate when those preorders might begin to ship. But in countries where users can currently place an order for the Apple Watch, most models are not scheduled to ship until June or later.
As with in the U.S. and other launch countries, preorders for the Apple Watch are expected to be online-only in the new countries. Beyond Italy, it's unknown what countries might be included in the rumored second wave.
But if last year's international rollout of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are any indication, there could be some 22 new countries where Apple Watch preorders begin. Last year, Italy was in the second wave of the iPhone 6 launch, along with Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Apple Watch officially launches this Friday in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, and the U.K. And though Italy won't be a part of the first wave, Apple has already begun promoting there, with marketing head Phil Schiller and designer Marc Newson making an appearance at the Salone del Mobile furniture design fair in Milan last week, both wearing the Apple Watch.
Comments
Pre-order shme-order... Who cares... Mine* just prepped for shipment.
*SS w/ML.
You would think that Apple would get the pre-order dates (in the first wave) significantly down to at least late May before allowing pre-orders in the second wave to start.
As I don't think it will be acceptable for pre-orders in the 2nd wave to have shipping dates of 6-8 weeks minimum....surely there should be a 2 week wait or thereabouts.
I held off pre-ordering as I wanted to try on the watch to make sure I was ordering the correct size. After 30 mins, pre-orders were up to June/July....I have held off and will wait to see if dates comes down. So there is no real rush for me to pre-order at the moment, but if the 2nd wave does in fact start in early May, and pre-order dates for 1st wave dont come down, then I may have to just go for it, to make sure I get one before Autumn.
Pre-order shme-order... Who cares... Mine* just prepped for shipment.
*SS w/ML.
Hopefully all of the first wave pre-orders will be out of the door by then!
Pre-order shme-order... Who cares... Mine* just prepped for shipment.
*SS w/ML.
Looks like Apple's celebrity-exclusivity marketing campaign worked perfectly on a few people... Kudos Apple, you really have made people think they are better than others... because of a ~watch~.
Looks like Apple's celebrity-exclusivity marketing campaign worked perfectly on a few people... Kudos Apple, you really have made people think they are better than others... because of a ~watch~.
Huh?
I don't know why Apple (or, perhaps more accurately, the media) bothers calling these "pre-orders". There really is no difference between a "pre-order" placed prior to the 24th and an "order" placed after the 24th (other than the fact that somebody, somewhere, has probably already received their "pre-order"). Both types of order are placed online and have a super-long wait for satisfaction. These are all just online orders. There is no "pre-order". Or, if you wish, these are all just "pre-orders". The point is that there is no transition between one type of order and another.
Now, eventually I can see Apple getting to the point where you can possibly pick up an ? Watch immediately when you walk into the store. And I could imagine a change to the order process where you can order whatever mix of band & ? Watch you want. (Right now, the precise combination I wanted is NOT one of the 38 models offered for ordering, so I had to settle for something very different.*) If and when these changes are made, there will be a distinct difference between order types. But for now, there are just online orders, some which are placed after some other dude you don't know happened to have received his already.
* I was jonesing for a space black ? Watch. I was willing to pay the extra $200 or so for the sapphire and the appearance, but the only combination offered online right now includes the black steel link bracelet, which is certainly more beautiful than the band I would have purchased, but I was not going to spring over $1000 for this. Maybe someday, but not yet. So I had to settle for the ? Sport space gray, whose looks I prefer to stainless steel in silver tone.
Looks like Apple's celebrity-exclusivity marketing campaign worked perfectly on a few people... Kudos Apple, you really have made people think they are better than others... because of a ~watch~.
When I finally get my ? Watch, I won't feel any more superior to others than I already do. I'll feel exactly the same amount of superior, and I'll have a gadget on my wrist - often under a dress-shirt sleeve, useless for purposes of vanity - that I think I will enjoy using.
Still, I think that if one is going to wear a watch, one should take the time to get the one that suits their tastes with respect to appearance. That's not vanity out-of-control. That just makes sense. On the other hand, if you get the ? Watch Edition, there's just no denying the vanity involved. For people like these, note that Apple didn't create them with this watch and their marketing. These people were already that way, and Apple is just charging giving them what they deserve want.
Pre-order shme-order... Who cares... Mine* just prepped for shipment.
*SS w/ML.
Mine's prepped for shipment with a shipment date range two weeks large. I wonder why, but I trust Apple
When I finally get my ? Watch, I won't feel any more superior to others than I already do. I'll feel exactly the same amount of superior, and I'll have a gadget on my wrist - often under a dress-shirt sleeve, useless for purposes of vanity - that I think I will enjoy using.
Still, I think that if one is going to wear a watch, one should take the time to get the one that suits their tastes with respect to appearance. That's not vanity out-of-control. That just makes sense. On the other hand, if you get the ? Watch Edition, there's just no denying the vanity involved. For people like these, note that Apple didn't create them with this watch and their marketing. These people were already that way, and Apple is just charging giving them what they deserve want.
1- I believe that carrying an Edition without the bodyguards is a very dangerous thing to do. A Rolex can already get you in huge amounts of trouble in a lot of places (hell, a smartphone can get you mugged, thrown off the stairways, etc.... people die to this), and it's, well, just a Rolex. Pop stars have the bodyguards, so the Edition is ok for them. My Apple Watch will clearly be hidden under my shirt. Anyway, for the purposes of vanity, I got some awesome cuff-link shirts at a French sur-mesure tailor, so that's good
2- I can't afford Edition, but I do think the Edition looks incredibly good, and if I could get one and shrug the expense off like it's a bus ticket, I totally would. Buying very expensive good looking things is not always vanity. Can also be, you can afford it
3- I like the milanese loop better than the link band, but I'd get one if Apple made the Watch in a diving watch. Right now, rich people pretty much have to swap their watch to a Rolex. Normal people use a Casio... or don't dive at all. What are you even doing underwater instead of working your ass off for your boss, whose hungry children will now starve due to lack of caviar?
I hope that people will put pics of their new delivery up in this thread! I wanna see
1. Makes sense to me.
2. I'd get Edition too, if I were so well off that the purchase was "shruggable".
3. I like black on gold, so whatever band I got would need to have a black version. The Milanese loop seems a bit feminine to me, but that may just be a quirk of mine. I don't know how most people would feel about it.