Apple Watch

Hammer Time: The Apple Watch gets its clock cleaned

UK-based electronics repair site iPhonefixed has gotten its hands on one of the sapphire crystal displays to be used in the mid-range and high-end Apple Watch models and put it through a bevy of quick scratch tests to see how it would fare.

After taking everything from sandpaper to a hammer and even a power drill to the cover, iPhonefixed’s testers were unable to put so much as a scratch on the sapphire surface. Overall it looks like the watch will be pretty durable.

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<a href="http://9to5mac.com/2015/04/08/apple-watch-ship-times-4-to-6-weeks-may-for-edition/">Leaked delivery details</a> from Apple.com indicated supply would be constrained.

Update: A reader got a reply from Apple CEO Tim Cook about the situation. See below.

Apple has today posted a press release reaffirming that Apple Watch try-on sessions and preorders start tomorrow, Friday April 10th. It also confirms that Apple Watch orders will be exclusively online for the launch period.

Angela Ahrendts says that Apple expects demand to outstrip supply at launch on the back of tremendous interest from customers viewing watches online and in the Apple Store app. As such, this has forced the company to limit orders to online only for the time being.

“We are excited to welcome customers tomorrow and introduce them to Apple Watch, our most personal device yet. 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,” said Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail and Online Stores. “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.”

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Apple Watch preorders are approaching quickly, but will it be difficult to get your hands on one? Also, it looks like the upcoming Apple TV may lack an important future-proofing feature. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed…

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/199874532?secret_token=s-o3ubY” params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /]

Click here to subscribe on iTunes or listen to the episode embedded above.

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Apple Watch goes up for preorder on April 10 and becomes available April 24 through retail stores and online, but some of Apple’s online stores are listing ship dates ranging from April 24th to sometime in May depending on the model.

Earlier today some of Apple’s online stores, including its German and UK stores, listed various shipping dates for the device for those willing to do a little digging on the site. While the Sport models and the Apple Watch with classic leather strap or Milanese bracelet are listed as shipping between April 24th and May 8th, other models are listed as shipping in 4-6 weeks or simply in “May”.

macerkopf.de first spotted the shipping dates on the German Apple online store and we later spotted the same dates on the UK and other international stores:
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Now that the early Apple Watch reviews are in, the consensus is clear: Apple has designed the best smartwatch yet, but it’s not an essential purchase. (Read our full summary of those reviews, including the positives and negatives, here.) In an interesting break with past traditions, quite a few of Apple’s hand-picked reviewers either clearly or subtly advised most readers to hold off on buying the Watch. Another surprise was that the reviews contained quite a few previously unknown or under-reported details about the Watch’s real-world performance, so we’ve summed them up here for you.

While all of the Apple Watch reviews were mostly positive — and some were, predictably, entirely positive — the quotes below mostly focus on user experience problems identified by multiple reviewers. The topics include Watch OS’s overly complex user interface, reports of awkward screen activation issues, overwhelming notifications, slow speeds, and even some unexpected conflicts with cultural norms…

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We have already highlighted the best bits from the Apple Watch write-ups posted today but text alone is not enough to fully appreciate the scope of the Watch’s functionality. We have collected all the video reviews of the device, which offer a visual appreciation of the Watch’s feature set. Moreover, with something as personal as a wearable, the videos also show you how the Watch looks worn on people’s wrists.

Follow along below for our video roundup:

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With the embargo lifted, Apple Watch reviews are spreading around the web, ahead of preorders on Friday. We saw a glimpse of the Apple Watch packaging yesterday, but Chinese website ‘Gadget Guy’ has stepped up to offer the world’s first unboxing video for the device.

The ‘exuberant’ demo shows how the Watch packaging resembles a jewellery case. Inside the square outer box is a rounded rectangle which contains the Watch itself, presented on its side with band already connected. An insert helps keep the Watch band in a curved shape when you unbox the lid for the first time. Other items, like the inductive charger and instruction sheets sit in the square box.

Watch the videos after the break.

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There’s an oft-told story about Steve Jobs insisting the wiring inside the Macintosh be made to look neat even though few owners would ever see it. Apple’s human-interface chief Alan Dye, interviewed in Wired, says the same attention to detail lives on in Apple today, and is reflected in the care that went into the Apple Watch.

We have a group of people who are really, really super-talented, but they really care. They care about details that a designer might not show in his portfolio because it’s so arcane. And yet getting it right is so critical to the experience.

Dye illustrated the point by referring to the animated faces of the Apple Watch … 
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Apple has just lifted the embargo on the Apple Watch for reviewers, allowing the technology press the to give their verdict on the device ahead of Watch preorders on the 10th. The device will actually be available to the public on the 24th. The Apple Watch is a huge release for Apple, its first new product category under Tim Cook. The anticipation for Apple Watch has been simply immense. The pricing model alone is a huge step for the company, entering ‘high-end’ luxury for the first time with the Apple Watch Edition … and a price tag in the $10,000 range. These reviews are our first glance at whether Apple succeeded in making the next hit product.

Reviewers got a demo of the entire Apple Watch buying process, from the initial Apple Store try-on experience right through to handling the device for a few days. Reviewers got to choose their watch-band combination, although the Edition was not available for reviewers (although you can see what Pharell thinks about it of course)

Read below for our roundup of the reviews from a handful of publications:

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The Apple Watch goes up for pre-order this coming Friday, but an Instagram user this evening has provided us with the first images of the device’s box. The images, which appear to have been posted from New York City, show the box for the 42mm stainless steel Apple Watch with the Milanese Loop band. The Apple Watch pictured appears to have been sourced to UK newspaper The Daily Mail.

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Apple has added the next wave of support for Apple Pay from 39 banks and credit unions today bringing the total active institutions to over 180 banks. Here are the latest to support Apple Pay as well as the full list so far:
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Apple may be revamping its storefronts to promote the Apple Watch, but it won’t be encouraging you to buy one there. Retail head Angela Ahrendts has sent a memo to Apple Store staff asking them to suggest customers use the online store to order both the Apple Watch and 12-inch MacBook. The memo reportedly reflects the fact that store inventory of both products will be very limited when the MacBook goes on sale on Friday and the Apple Watch follows two weeks later.

Ahrendts’ two-paragraph memo aims to put a positive spin on the fact that many customers are likely to be disappointed when trying to purchase the new products, suggesting that pointing them to online purchase will “make their day” … 
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Last week we noticed that Apple had started seeding Apple Watch review units to the media, and this evening the device is getting more promotion. On popular TV show “The Voice,” coach Pharrell Williams can clearly be seen wearing the Apple Watch. Likewise, Apple CEO Tim Cook is attending the NCCA national championship game with the Apple Watch clearly strapped on his wrist.

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Apple will begin dressing up the front of its stores with a new Apple Watch-themed promotion on April 10th to coincide with the beginning of in-store Apple Watch try-on appointments. The new, unique display will be shown at all Apple Stores with glass front windows and it is themed akin to the application icon arrays on the Apple Watch’s Home screen. According to the source who provided the above rendering, each circle is packed with Mac mini-powered LED lights that will show off different colors, patterns, and effects throughout the day. The new front of store visuals will continue to stay live after the Apple Watch launches on April 24th as Apple can simply remove the “Coming Soon” label shown on the above render…

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Update: Apple has added these four tour videos to its YouTube channel, as well. They are available below.

In the lead-up to the retail debut of its first wearable device, Apple has launched a new website that features demo videos demonstrating the watch’s capabilities. At the moment, there are four videos available on the site, covering the Messages ap, customizable watch faces, and Digital Touch communication features. A general overview at the top of the page provides a broad look at the watch’s capabilities.

At the moment, only those in-depth videos seem to be available, but spaces detailing phone calls, Siri, the mapping application, music playback, Apple Pay transactions, and the built-in pair of health and fitness apps are all marked as “Coming Soon.”

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We’re now a week away from the first day of Apple Watch pre-order sales, and Apple has updated its online store to officially announce that orders will begin after 12:01 AM PT/3:01 AM ET on April 10th.
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To go along with the premium $10,000 and up pricing of the 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition, Apple will charge up to $999 for the Apple Watch Edition’s AppleCare+ Protection Plan, 9to5Mac has learned. The Apple Watch Edition notably has very different AppleCare coverage from other Apple Watch models, coming with two years of 24/7 support and a special setup hotline right out of the box. AppleCare+ will add a third year of technical support and support for up to two incidents of accidental hardware damage. More affordable AppleCare+ coverage will also be offered for the aluminum Sport and stainless steel standard models, which will cost $59 and $79 respectively, adding a second year of technical support to the included one year, plus support for up to two incidents of accidental hardware damage…

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