Pre-order

Apple has begun charging for and preparing to ship the first orders of the 42MM Space Black stainless steel, Modern Buckle, Leather Loop, and international stainless steel Link Bracelet orders, according to reports from several readers. Standard Apple Watch with Link Bracelet orders started arriving in the United States yesterday…

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Slice Intelligence, which earlier estimated first-day US Apple Watch pre-orders at just under a million, said that the number has now reached 1.7M, and that 376,000 of them have shipped – around 22% of pre-orders. KGI has estimated worldwide shipments of 631,000 in Q1, with Q2 shipments expected to hit 3.8M.

Slice gathers its data by scanning the email inboxes of more than two million participating online shoppers and extrapolating its numbers from there. Of those panel members who ordered an Apple Watch, 22% of them were given a shipping date of Friday to Sunday inclusive …

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Several 9to5Mac readers with Apple Watch orders that promise May and June ship dates are seeing their order status change from ‘processing’ to ‘preparing for shipment’ despite the delayed delivery dates. Customers seeing these status changes have also reported seeing charges for the Apple Watch purchase. This is usually a sign that the pre-order is moving toward delivery, although for now the delivery dates appear to be unchanged making an early delivery uncertain.
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<a href="http://9to5mac.com/2015/04/17/apple-phil-schiller-marc-newson-apple-watch-showcase-milan/" target="_blank">Apple Watch on display for one day only in Milan, Italy last week</a>

A new report out today claims Apple will soon be taking orders for the Apple Watch in more countries around the world — even as stock in the initial launch countries remains tight. According to Italian site iSpazio, citing anonymous sources, Apple plans to roll out the Apple Watch preview and try-on experience at its retail locations and begin taking pre-orders beginning May 8th. However, sources close to the situation say Apple is not currently targeting May 8th for its second-wave Apple Watch launch…

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Angela Ahrendts has told Apple Store staff that the Apple Watch is unlikely to be available for in-store purchases before June – but they should expect the usual ‘blockbuster launches’ in retail stores for future products.

In a memo to retail store staff, Apple’s retail head thanked staff for making the try-ons “unforgettable,” told them customer feedback had been “overwhelmingly positive” and that the online-only ordering period was likely to continue throughout May.

Many of you have been getting questions asking if we will have the watch available in stores on April 24 for walk-in purchases. As we announced last week, due to high global interest combined with our initial supply, we are only taking orders online right now. I’ll have more updates as we get closer to in-store availability, but we expect this to continue through the month of May.

Ahrendts said that the decision to do things this way had not been an easy one … 
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In a new report from KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo, the usually accurate analyst estimates that global pre-orders for the Apple Watch will top 2.3 million units through May. A report earlier this week claimed that Apple Watch first day pre-orders were at almost 1 million units…

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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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If you want to buy the Apple Watch model of your choice at an Apple Store at launch, you should consider pre-ordering online or through an Apple Store reservation, sources have told 9to5Mac. Due in part to the number of different models, Apple Watch inventory at many Apple Stores in the United States will be heavily constrained at launch, with priority given to reservations, meaning that Apple Watch availability for random walk-in purchases on day one will be noticeably tight.

As one source at a flagship Apple Store said, “we’re told to treat launch day as if there will be no walk-in stock.” That doesn’t necessarily mean there will be absolutely zero Apple Watch units to buy at launch if you don’t have a reservation, just that the specific Apple Watch variant a person wants will be far harder to come by at launch than some previous iPhone models.

Of course, inventory will vary depending on the store’s location, including state and country, with China expected to have larger stock allocations. But several sources across the United States are reporting a similar emphasis on the majority of stock being available solely for reservations at launch. Besides the U.S. and China, the Watch will be available in Canada, France, Japan, Germany, and the U.K. at launch.

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Apple has shown off the Apple Watch at a special event now on two occasions: first after the iPhone 6 last September, then after the new 12-inch MacBook last week. We know how the Apple Watch will look, how much it will cost, when we can buy it and for how much. Many developers are ready to ship apps for the Apple Watch, and we’re already seeing an accessory market for Apple’s wearable.

Since last week’s event, I’ve been thinking about why Apple might have chosen to have its second Apple Watch unveiling more than a month before people can actually buy the device. My conclusion? It’s complicated, but mostly necessary considering the complexity of actually buying the right watch.

Apple’s motivation is to ensure that you have an iPhone 5 or later before next month, and that you have the answer to a number of questions including how many millimeters your wrist measures if you plan to pre-order before trying on an Apple Watch. And because we know how major iPhone launches go with getting the exact model you want, pre-ordering will be the first opportunity to secure the Apple Watch of your choice or risk waiting even longer.
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While the Apple Online Store remains down (back in business!) ahead of expected iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 pre-orders today, AT&T has jumpstarted the process by starting to accept pre-orders for AT&T-connected LTE models of the iPad Air 2.
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The WSJ revealed some iPhone 6 production numbers as Foxconn struggles to meet demand from pre-orders: the company is operating around 100 production lines around the clock, has 200,000 workers dedicated to production of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus – and is manufacturing 540,000 units a day.

“We have been churning out 140,000 iPhone 6 Plus and 400,000 iPhone 6 every day, the highest daily output ever, but the volume is still not enough to meet the preorders,” said a person familiar with the matter …

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As expected, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are both now available for pre-order on Apple’s online store and carrier websites, at least for some users. As the stores start to catch up to the load, more and more and customers should be able to get in their orders. Initial buyers seem to have the most luck on carrier websites as well as the Apple Store App. The store is almost an hour late in opening.

You can get the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 starting at $199 for the 16 GB model. Unlike previous years, there is no 32 GB option, which was replaced by a larger 64 GB model at $299 and a new 128 GB version for $399.

The iPhone 6 Plus sports the same internals as the smaller model accompanied by a 5.5-inch display and a camera with optical image stabilization. You can get the larger version of the phone in 16 GB for $299, 64 GB for $399, or 128 GB for $499 with a 2 year plan.

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Morgan Stanley is estimating that iPhone sales for Q3 (Apple’s fiscal Q4) will hit 34.5M, 28 percent higher than the 26.9M sold in the same quarter last year, reports Fortune.

Apple had only just begun taking iPhone 5C pre-orders Sunday when Morgan Stanley’s AlphaWise Smartphone Tracker closed the books on Q3 2013, but the survey had already registered a bump in buyer interest in the company’s line of smartphones … 
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We have our first sellout!

Following pre-orders going live today for Apple’s new iPhone 5c, shipping times for the yellow, unlocked model of the device have just slipped from the expected delivery date of September 20 to “available to ship by 9/25.” That’s only for the 16GB model of the device, as all other colors and models are currently still listed as arriving by the previously announced Sept. 20 release date.

The device is also currently listed as shipping in 1-2 weeks on Apple’s Hong Kong website and in Canada all models and colors of the iPhone 5c are shipping between Sept. 20 and Sept. 24.

Apple is currently accepting preorders for the new iPhone 5c in the US, UK, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, and Singapore, and previously announced that the device would begin shipping alongside the new iPhone 5s later this month on September 20. Apple is still listing a delivery date of Sept. 20 in all other launch countries for the iPhone 5c, but we’ll keep you updated if shipping times slip in other countries.

Other than Apple, a number of its carrier and retail partners are also accepting for preorders for the iPhone 5c starting today, but Apple isn’t making preorders available for the iPhone 5s before its release.

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Walmart has announced that it will be offering both of the new iPhone models in their 16Gb versions, the 5c at $79 (a $20 saving) and the 5s at $189 (a $10 savings). Walmart offers the phones on Verizon, AT&T and Sprint.

What’s interesting here is that Apple Stores usually do price matching so it might be worth a try after waiting on line on launch day. Best Buy will also price match often, so this could trigger markdowns all over … 
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXKindguPTI&start=20]

Leap, creators of the Mac and PC 3D motion-tracking device, announced this morning that it will begin shipping its Leap Motion on May 13. Last May, Leap announced it would open up pre-orders for the device for $69.99.

With today’s announcement, Leap raised the price of the controller $10 dollars; $79.99 is the new retail price. Leap also announced that starting today Best Buy would take pre-orders for the device with a May 19 delivery date…

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We were just sent what appears to be a legitimate internal memo floating around BestBuy’s systems. It confirmed the retailer would not fulfill all iPhone 5 pre-orders based on “current inventory allocation.” Originally expected for delivery by today, the memo confirmed BestBuy sent emails to some customers informing they will not receive the pre-ordered iPhone 5 by this weekend. Instead, BestBuy is promising to fulfill preorders by mid-October—”no later than 28 days from launch.” Shipping times for the device slipped to “3-4 weeks” even on Apple’s website, but this is confirmation from a major retailer that some pre-order customers promised delivery by this weekend will not get their device. We recently posted documents showing Walmart’s internal iPhone 5 launch plans, which confirmed the retailer will also not guarantee Sept. 21 availability for preorder customers.

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Look what just popped up on Amazon: A company called Nanotch is offering pre-orders for 30-pin to Lightning adapters. There had been concern when a report last month said the 9-pin adapters were only going to cost $10 each and Apple would be the sole manufacturer, but neither looks to be true.

The company listed the following features: