Apple Watch could reach more countries in late June, Cook says
Apple is targeting late June for an sales expansion that would make Apple Watch available in more countries, conditional on supply, CEO Tim Cook said on Monday during the company's second quarter results call.
The Watch is currently on sale in just nine regions: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Within hours of online preorders launching on April 10, delivery times extended out into June. A few boutique stores sold the device on April 24, but Apple's own stores aren't expected to carry any Watches until June at the earliest.
In the meantime, Apple has been directing shoppers to place orders via its web store or through the Apple Store iOS app.
The iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2, by comparison, are currently sold in dozens of countries and were both available in more of those regions at launch. The Watch however is an entirely new product category for Apple and difficult to make, since it uses an ultra-compact chip design with the additional material demands of a watch, such as sapphire glass, stainless steel, and/or gold on mid- to high-end models.
During the results call, Cook revealed very little about the Watch and launch sales. He did however mention that the company is already making adjustments to meet demand, and claimed that customer response has been "overwhelmingly positive."
The Watch is currently on sale in just nine regions: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Within hours of online preorders launching on April 10, delivery times extended out into June. A few boutique stores sold the device on April 24, but Apple's own stores aren't expected to carry any Watches until June at the earliest.
In the meantime, Apple has been directing shoppers to place orders via its web store or through the Apple Store iOS app.
The iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2, by comparison, are currently sold in dozens of countries and were both available in more of those regions at launch. The Watch however is an entirely new product category for Apple and difficult to make, since it uses an ultra-compact chip design with the additional material demands of a watch, such as sapphire glass, stainless steel, and/or gold on mid- to high-end models.
During the results call, Cook revealed very little about the Watch and launch sales. He did however mention that the company is already making adjustments to meet demand, and claimed that customer response has been "overwhelmingly positive."
Comments
how about delivering what is on backorder first
I too think Apple need to focus on catching up to the demand they already have before launching somewhere else.
They can only produce so many a month but not like other companies whose stocks are sitting on the shelves.
What does that have to do with what the OP wrote?
When that happens, I'll be interested.
how about delivering what is on backorder first
Not sure why you think they won't. The signs that this is not definite:
1. Apple "is targeting" late-June - meaning they don't have a firm plan or do have a plan provided Supply is up to the task.
2. "Late-June" - meaning no firm launch date, unlike when they have a specific date for the second set of roll-outs.
3. "Some countries" - again, nothing firm. Just vague plans.
The main giveaway is this line in the story - "conditional to supply".
So yes, Apple has a plan in place and an idea as to what the next countries will be, but are aware of constraints in the countries it is already launched. So they will address that first, if they can.
It's been time to wake up since the Apple Watch reveal:
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-apple-watch-will-accommodate-lefties-2015-3
Wake me when the scroll button is BTO on the left-hand side of the display allowing for Left-handed people who wear watches on their right wrist to have easy left-hand control wheel experience as those who predominantly wear a watch on their left wrist.
When that happens, I'll be interested.
It's a setting to set watch for left handed (more accurately right wristed!) use
end of june... I HATE that idea. Just because you live in the 'wrong' country.
Well the answer is to buy more Apple products then you will become a focus country for launch /s
end of june... I HATE that idea. Just because you live in the 'wrong' country.
I'm not sure but last time I checked it's not like a citizenship with Apple stuff. However - I'm a happy share holder so I like that people crave the stuff in order to just come up with this type of comments!
Well the answer is to buy more Apple products then you will become a focus country for launch /s
Hmm, I doubt I can buy enough products to change that (I already buy about every product they build).
But Apple is about the only company I know that doesn't allow someone living in country A to buy a product in country B (both being EU contries, by the way). I'd like to see what you'd be saying if you were living, say, in Nevada, but you could only get the Watch in Florida and you weren't allowed to order it from Nevada either.
@sirdir , you missed my sarcasm tag I see
Apple are clearly making a business decision based on supply and being able to support customers in each country. For example I've already had communication from them to arrange a video call where they will show me how to use the Watch. This takes some logistics.
Better to have a well executed limited country launch programme than have the product launch deemed a disaster by being poorly executed but global.
BTW - I live in the EU.
@sirdir , you missed my sarcasm tag I see
Apple are clearly making a business decision based on supply and being able to support customers in each country. For example I've already had communication from them to arrange a video call where they will show me how to use the Watch. This takes some logistics.
Better to have a well executed limited country launch programme than have the product launch deemed a disaster by being poorly executed but global.
BTW - I live in the EU.
Maybe you missed mine, too
(BTW: Why should they launch in countries with the highes demand first? There aren't enough devices available anyway, why not start in countries with low demand 
)
Video Call: See, that's exactly what I mean. I don't need consultation, I don't need support, I don't need video calls. I don't even need to try it. Just give me the watch.
Any vendor will launch in key markets first. Makes perfect sense.
I guess you should just consider it good that Apple will eventually bring the Watch to your developing nation? /s
I don't need a video call either.
Any vendor will launch in key markets first. Makes perfect sense.
I guess you should just consider it good that Apple will eventually bring the Watch to your developing nation? /s
As a Swiss citizen I can only chuckle at your 'developing' comment. Aynway, it's not about the launch, it's about the refusal to deliver to other countries. If I live in Spain and want a Mac with German keyboard, I can't get that without tons of interaction with Apple Spain. Hopefully I do speak spanish (I do, still I don't like holding on phone lines for hours...)
Anyway, I see you're not interested in a real discussion.
As a Swiss citizen I can only chuckle at your 'developing' comment. Aynway, it's not about the launch, it's about the refusal to deliver to other countries. If I live in Spain and want a Mac with German keyboard, I can't get that without tons of interaction with Apple Spain. Hopefully I do speak spanish (I do, still I don't like holding on phone lines for hours...)
Anyway, I see you're not interested in a real discussion.
Again sarcasm tag used...
The fact is that bemoaning when and where Apple choose to launch their products is pointless. The countries with the biggest sales volumes for Apple have the most say and the most marketing budget to spend to promote the product. That's the world of multinational businesses. Being angry at it is futile because it won't change.
With your keyboard you are trying to bend the Apple rules, this isn't something that happens easily. Far simpler would just to be get someone to buy a unit for you with a German keyboard and then you buy it from them. Apple runs a highly complicated supply chain, which works because it doesn't allow the flexibility of companies such as Dell in configurations, languages etc. The effect on their bottom line of that strategy is clear to see.
There are things that multi national corporations will change but expecting them to manipulate their supply chain to quickly resolve your one use case of needing a German keyboard on a machine sold in Spain is unrealistic. I suspect from my knowledge of such issues based from working in both high mix/low volume and low mix/high volume production in electronics that internally this machine would be sold at a loss by the time all the extra administration and operations time was absorbed.
Simple answer, move to a country which is more favoured by Apple.
Again, it's not about the launch.
Again, a simple solution to all those problems would be to ship to other countires. They are all shipped from the same storages anyway (there aren't many in Europe)
BTW: If I need a new notebook now, what I do is write to the CEO, whereafter a manager will call me and sort the problem out. I don't know if that is really less expensive.