Apple has launched a Reserve & Pickup system for the Apple Watch, which is the latest development in previous reports that the wearable device can soon be purchased by interested customers through retail stores.
The system has been rolled out in Australia and the United Kingdom, with the United States surely to follow as the date flips over to June 17.
The webpage for the Reserve & Pickup system of Apple states that models of the Apple Watch will be available in select retail stores by reservation. The availability of the wearable devices, however, will still be limited to certain models and variants of the Apple Watch. Customers should not expect that all the cases and bands of the Apple Watch will be available, as the supply shortage for the device could very well still be in effect.
The Reserve & Pickup system will allow customers to select a specific case and band for reservation through the webpage, to check if the items are available. The customer can then head over to a nearby Apple Store to check the items before the purchase of the reserved Apple Watch is completed.
For customers looking to purchase their Apple Watch through the Reserve & Pickup system, they will only be given a certain amount of time to drop by the Apple Store to purchase the items that they have reserved. If the customer is not able to do so, the reservation for the items will be cancelled and they will be returned to the Apple Store's stock. Customers are also allowed to make only one reservation at a time.
The online Apple Store for the United States now says "Buy Now," as opposed to previously stating "Buy Exclusively Online," meaning that the device will not only be available through online ordering methods any longer. Since the launch of the Apple Watch until now, the device could only be purchased online due to shortages in inventory for the highly anticipated device.
The launch of the Reserve & Pickup system for the Apple Watch was also confirmed by Apple news website 9to5Mac, as a support employee for Apple revealed that the system will be launching on June 17.
A report by another Apple news website, iClarified, also confirmed that Apple Stores in the United States have already received the stocks to make the Apple Watch available in their locations.
