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The Apple Watch’s launch is scheduled to occur in the “spring,” according to Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts, later in 2015 than some had originally anticipated. Ahrendts stated the timeframe to retail employees in a video message, a transcript of which was provided by a source. While explaining that employees need to conserve energy for upcoming shopping seasons, Ahrendts stated, “we’re going into the holidays, we’ll go into Chinese New Year, and then we’ve got a new watch launch coming in the spring:”

Watch_Spring_9to5Mac

Up until this point, Apple has consistently said that the Apple Watch will ship in “early 2015,” without specifying a day or month. The broad window was announced at the Apple Watch’s unveil in September, is stated on Apple’s website, and was reiterated by Apple executives last month. Sources indicated in September that Apple would struggle to hit a Valentine’s Day release, which now appears to be even more unlikely. Spring begins on March 20th and lasts until June. If Apple considers late March to be “early 2015,” there may have actually been no change in plans. However, Ahrendts clearly states the launch is after the Chinese New Year (February 19th), so it appears the launch will miss Valentine’s Day regardless.

Last year, a report indicated that Apple planned to ship the wearable in fall 2014, but engineering difficulties delayed the launch to 2015. Subsequent reports confirmed that battery issues were partially to blame for Watch delays, and sources tell us that Apple is still working out kinks in the device’s battery system. Tim Cook has noted that Apple intends for the first-generation model to last all day and be charged each night. While Apple has reportedly hit that particular goal, the company is still working to speed up the amount of time it takes the inductive MagSafe charging system to fully juice up the product.

Sources tell us that Apple executives are already planning retail strategies for the new category of watches. At an all-hands retail employee meeting last month, Cook told staff members that retail employees will be trained to help customers actually try on the Apple Watch, including swapping out different sizes and bands. iPhones, Macs, iPads, and iPods in retail stores are secured via wires to showroom tables, so Apple actually allowing customers to try on the product before purchase will be a new experience for the company. Ahrendts is said to believe that retail-based watch sales will deepen relationships with customers, which is critical for future sales.

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22 Responses to “Apple Retail SVP Angela Ahrendts: Apple Watch launching in “Spring,” after Chinese New Year”

  1. sikosis says:

    Right so it’ll be out September next year because that’s Spring. /sarcasm

    Like

  2. It doesn’t make sense for them to announce this product in September 14 and then release the watch in March 2015 (six months later), when they have been testing the final product at the top level months before September 2014 and a few top employees were wearing the finalised version at the September event.

    I would imagine this is a rouse.

    It would make more sense to launch the product as a fitness device in the New Year with a Health Kit campaign again.

    I think we will see a staggered launch into Spring to cope with the different product varieties, with the sports watch coming first and premium gold versions launching in the Spring.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Not a rouse. Apple is a publicly owned company. Investors don’t like being lied to and a stunt like that would get the company sued for BIG $$$$.

      Like

    • ifunography says:

      There are precedents to Apple announcing new product categories way before they hit the market. Take into consideration the Jan 2010 announcement of the iPad – April 2010 release, Jan 2007 announcement of the iPhone – July 2007 release.

      There are reasons it makes sense:

      1. They get to formally announce the product it before supply chain leaks occur.

      2. It readies the market for the product. e.g. the announcement alongside iPhone 6, the event in France, being worn on the cover of Vogue China. Doing this gets the market ready because people are talking about it and consumers who want it have time to budget for the new gadget. It also affects purchasing decisions because someone who may have been interested in buying a Moto 360, Fitbit, Pebble or other wearable may decide to wait until the Apple Watch is released instead.

      3. As they are reportedly still working on battery life issues (mentioned by Tim Cook), it also gives them time to make final tweaks to the product post-announcement, which theoretically could include insights gathered by reactions to the announcement on social media, etc.

      It’s highly unlikely there will be a ~6-month window leading up to the second gen’s announcement.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. 89p13 says:

    Better right than early. It’ll give Samesung until the fall to mimic it in time for the Droid Boi’s to ask for it for their entry into Kindergarten.

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  4. Maybe it will be announced alongside the iPad pro.

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  5. I’m sick of hearing Apple china this and that.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Kissing chain ass and then they hack you.

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  7. They aren’t products, that is software you are talking about.

    Announcing a product when it is finalised or in the final stages and then launching it a year later would not be sensible.

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  8. Peter Fox says:

    Or the iPhone 6 models that bend, get hair stuck in or change colour depending on your jeans.
    It fits the flow Apple is in. Not just bad devices, hardware wise, but delays or dissapointments like no saphire screens as told, new tablets with slimmer housing but lesser battery, or in some cases changing amost nothing just adding a “3” and the fingerprint scanner, which does not justify the higher price when you put it next to the iPad mini 2. Seems Apple is “flooding” the market with its tablet with little to no difference in price or specs. It makes alot of eople I know wonder why to but Apple products anymore. There hasnt been any real innovation in years. And no, NFC is NO innovation.

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  9. I’m starting to think you’re working for Scamsung’s PR department, because you attempt to constantly spew the same revisionist crap they do, get out.

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  10. Peter, your comments are so ignorant and misinformed I don’t even know where to begin, unless of course this was an attempt at making sarcasm look like serious issues…

    I think what gets me first is your assumption that without NFC chips there’s no innovation. Please tell me that was just a sarcastic swipe? Do I need to mention the A8X, TouchID, anti-glare coated screens? Your only genuine concern was the iPad Mini 3 only receiving TouchID…

    And as for the iPhone 6 media FUD you mentioned, that’s all it is, delusional FUD. ALL phones have a tendency to pull hair at the convergence point between the frame and glass, that was the media grasping at straws after the #bendgate BS finally got proven to be BS.

    If this was sarcasm, perhaps you should put a /s at the end. If you were serious, then please, there’s the door.

    Like

  11. Alex Girard says:

    LOL Herb has been hired by Samsung to troll posts. This is a fact, because someone on the internet said so.

    Like

  12. thshmbl says:

    Well we knew herb had nothing to say… and now we know Peter is just as ridiculous. Seriously…?? Hair stuck in the phone? That’s your dig? Bush league.

    And the idea that Apple is “flooding” the market with devices is laughable. Have you heard of Android Pete?

    Oh, and lastly, Apple never – anywhere – said the iPhone 6/6 Plus would have Sapphire screens. That was a rumor. If you can show me where it says/said that on the Apple website, I’ll give you a cookie Pete. Try getting your facts straight first. Edison was right, the only legitimate gripe was the Mini 3/Touch ID.

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  13. jrox16 says:

    Your analysis is mostly garbage:

    1) iPhone 6 models that bend – No they don’t. A tiny tiny percentage of foolish people are sitting on their thin phones, this is not a defect, but poor care by the user. Other phones have bent too after abuse, but they don’t get air time on the blogs because only the iPhone is popular enough to get so many clicks. It’s all click-bait and you’ve fallen for it because you are weak minded.

    2) like no saphire screens as told – LOL, when did Apple tell you the iPhone was going to have a sapphire screen?? Never. Just because you hear things on tech blogs doesn’t make it true. Companies are always testing things and pushing for things that never make it in time, but only Apple has the popularity now for the click-bait articles, and you’ve fallen for it because you are weak minded.

    3) changing amost nothing just adding a “3” and the fingerprint scanner – Agreed… the iPad Mini 3 is not worth $100 more just for Touch ID.

    4) Apple is “flooding” the market with its tablet with little to no difference in price or specs – Nonsense. The Mini 3 is overpriced yes (see #3), but the iPad Air 2 has a wealth of improvements and costs LESS. It’s thinner, more powerful, has double the RAM, has a better laminated screen, and now comes with 64GB of storage for the same price of $599 which it came with 32GB last year – therefore cheaper. So better in every single way it can be better, and cheaper. It is the best tablet on the market by far and every single website has reviewed it thusly.

    5) There hasnt been any real innovation in years – LOL absolute utter bullshit. Compared to whom? Apple is doing ALL the innovation. Hmmm, lets see.. the re-invented the smartphone industry completely, they re-invented the tablet industry completely, they introduced the worlds first no-visible pixel display on a mobile device (“retina”) which now every phone has, they introduced the worlds first 64-bit mobile processor, which now the competition is catching up to, they invented the entire ultrabook genre of laptops (MacBook Air), they re-invented the fingerprint scanner on a phone making it fantastically reliable, quick, and usable (again, a first in mobile since Motorola’s attempt was a total failure with the Atrix), they re-invented the concept of mobile payments with Apple Pay, which isn’t a new idea, but a completely different implementation that is worlds better than anything before it, and that is in fact innovation.

    You don’t understand what innovation is, you confuse it with gimmick I think. Other companies innovate too, but to claim Apple hasn’t in years is pure ignorance and a lack of perception. Innovation isn’t just creating a new mechanism but also create a new method of using an existing technology. Claiming Apple doesn’t innovate is like saying no great novels have been printed since the Bible because they all use the same words and paper and ink, lol.

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