Apple has announced before on a press release that the Apple Watch will be available for purchase online on April 24. Customers in the U.S., Japan, the U.K., Hong Kong, Germany, France, China, Canada and Australia can go to their local Apple Store to try on and experience the Watch. Pre-order for the device will be available through apple.com starting on April 10 while the delivery shall begin on April 24.
Apple had somehow changed the tagline a bit on the Apple Online Store in U.S. Previously, it says "Available 4.24.15," but now it says "The Watch is coming."
It is speculated that the change is based on the fact that a number of users will not be able to get the Apple Watch on launch day. This could be due to several reasons such as low stock, shipping delays, and even the inability to purchase the wearable at the online store when the product launches.
Apple has expected before that customer demand for the Watch will be stronger and shall exceed the supply when it finally launches. As a solution, the company is taking orders for the Watch exclusively through the Apple Online Store.
"We are excited to welcome customers tomorrow and introduce them to Apple Watch, our most personal device yet," said Angela Ahrendts, Apple's senior VP of Retail and Online Stores, at a press release statement a day prior to the Watch's pre-order availability on April 10. "Based on the tremendous interest from people visiting our stores, as well as the number of customers who have gone to the Apple Online Store to mark their favorite Apple Watch ahead of availability, we expect that strong customer demand will exceed our supply at launch. To provide the best experience and selection to as many customers as we can, we will be taking orders for Apple Watch exclusively online during the initial launch period."
In an earlier press release, Apple announced that the Apple Watch will be available in nine countries on April 24. Apart from the U.S., the Apple Online Store in Japan also changed its tagline. Instead of saying the April 24 date, it now says "The time has come" (written in Japanese characters).
The remaining 7 countries in list still show the date in the tagline of their respective local Apple Online Store. Here is the list of the countries with their respective tagline.
1. Australia - Available 24.4.15
2. U.K. - Available 24.04.15
3. Canada - Available 4.24.15
4. France - Le 24 avril 2015
5. Hong Kong - Available 4.24.15
6. Germany - Erhältlich ab 24.04.2015
7. China - 2015.4.24 (with Chinese characters after the year and the month)
The difference on the dates between these 7 countries from those found in the U.S. and in Japan doesn't really mean that the launch date in the latter countries has been moved. Perhaps, Apple just wanted to acknowledge the fact that most shoppers will not be able to have their pre-ordered devices on day one.
The latest research from KGI showed that an estimated 2.3 million Apple Watch devices were sold from pre-ordering. It is expected that the Apple Watch may encounter some issues in production that will affect its supply. This was already felt on the first night that the Watch became available for pre-orders as it was noted that a number of models sold out quickly.
