You had to be quick to order an Apple Watch this morning. Some models went out of stock within minutes, and shipping dates were soon slipping into May, June and beyond. Within a few hours, almost all models were sold out.
So, with plenty of time to think about it before pre-orders opened, but very little time to actually make your purchase, which model did you buy – and was it the one you really wanted?
As a smartwatch skeptic, I was a little torn. On the one hand, I’m expecting to simply try it for a week and then return it. On that basis, it didn’t matter which model I ordered as I’d be getting my money back later. I’d considered the stainless steel model with link bracelet, as that’s the one that has the greatest aesthetic appeal to me.
But there’s always that chance that I’ll decide to keep it – and I’m not willing to pay a thousand bucks (actually $1250 in the UK, with sales tax) for a first-generation product.
So personally I went the cheapskate route and opted for the basic Sport model, in silver, with a sport band. I can’t, though, live with any of the standard band colors, so I did plonk down a little extra for a second band in the Proper Color (aka black).
Let us know what you ordered, and whether you were able to get your first choice.
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None of the Above – I’m Waiting for:
Titanium
2nd Generation Improvements
YMMV
To the 2.21% that ordered the edition, why? Seriously why?
Because they can!
While I certainly don’t have $10,000 to $17,000 laying around to just spend on a watch, there are many, many people who do. They work hard and have money to spare. Just because they can, doesn’t deserve a “why” it deserves and freaking congrats, you earned it!!! Why do people buy a Ulysse Nardin watch for $140,000, when you can buy a nice $500 Tag Heuer? Simply put, they can. To some people, it’s about feeling like they earned their money and can spend it however they want. Why look down on that? They are living the freakin’ dream.
Exactly!!! So true and so well answered…
A Uilysse Nardin and even a Tag Heuer is something you keep for life and maybe even pass down to your children. I inherited a Heuer Camero from my dad and one day hope to pass it down to my son. I don’t have a problem with anybody spending their money on what ever they want, but genuinely would like to know why someone would spend 12k on something they will have to replace in one to two years. Just seems daft to me however much money you have.
Because to them 12k could be equivalent to pocket change for you.
While there are certainly people out there who have $10k-17k laying around to spend on a watch, NOT all of them work hard for that money. ;)
The Edition is stuck between a rock and a hard place price wise. For most of us mere mortals it is expensive, but owning one IS possible. For the super rich, it’s pennies. They would opt for the watches normal people could never own, i.e the $140k watch you mentioned.
@monty72
I’ve seen the argument that watches can be handed down a lot lately in discussions involving Apple Watches. I’m actually interested to see how it pans out. In the future it’s very possible that mechanical watches will be very much seen as antiquated in a market full of devices that can accomplish more. Thats not to say mechanical watches won’t retain their value, they likely will, but at the same time it could end up being similar to handing down a beautiful turn table or other piece of technology that one can still take pride in, but it may not be what you’d ever get a lot of use out of. A child may still take pride in the item, but it might not ever become a part of their daily fashion attire.
It’ll be interesting to see how things go. The watch has had a good run so far as lack of equivalent has gone but future generations attitudes towards the device will surely be impacted somewhat by smart devices.
Agreed, because they can and for the ladies, that gold with the red band looks incredibly nice.
Because the world has an endless supply of douchebags.
Ha, I’m sure those rich douchebags care what us mere mortals with normal incomes think though. I think they get the last laugh lol.
And you are certainly one of those “douchebags” aren’t you?
@ jrox16: No, they are “douchebags” *because* of the fact that buying the Edition watch shows that they don’t care much about anything but their own self.
@silverhawk1: How dare you! I’ve always thought of myself more as an “asshole” than a “douchebag” there is a difference you know! :)
Hint: the “douchebag” is the Republican guy, or the guy in that polo shirt, or that guy who buys a Ferrari “just because he can.” In other words he is a “bad person,” whereas the “asshole” is just someone you don’t like, who may or may not actually be a “bad person” at all.
It’s call FUCK YOU MONEY. I’ll buy an Watch Edition just to say fuck you! :)
Why would a rich person listen to a poor person? I just don’t get that.
A poor person: The Gold watches are a waste of money.
A rich person: I’ll take two, just to piss off poor people that can’t afford one, just so I can show my wealth to other rich people so they can buy one two.
A poor person: But, but, but……..
A rich person: whatever……… Hey, I might take it to a jeweler and add some diamonds to make it even MORE expensive. Yeah!! WooHoo!
There is actually such a thing as “fuck you money,” but this is not it. This is: http://jlcollinsnh.com/2011/06/06/why-you-need-f-you-money/
Stupid question, because it’s Gold and goes with there $8000 Armani suit or $5000 Vera Wang dress and $800 shoes.
It’s because they can, and that’s the only reason why. Same people that buy Lamborghini’s when the car rides terribly and is impractical, they want the attention.
Actually, the Huracan rides quite nice, and as long as you don’t need to carry luggage, it’s quite practical at moving two people around.
Because they like Gold and they have MONEY, they probably made a lot of money from investing in Apple stock is my guess.
Because it’s cheaper than this one… http://www.brikk.com
Says it all really, not a lot to add to that. Other than I’d really like to hear from someone that’s actually bought an edition.
Did someone here buy an edition Watch, really?
How about a poll asking “why do you think you need one?”. Options: a. It’s magical, b. It’s Apple, c. The meth got me tripping balls.
I’m more curious what time your orders for through and what is your estimated ship date. Mine was 3:30 am ET and the email says June.
Why not? ;)
@JoeyNice I was on literally when the app store came back up. I had my order finalized at 3:08am EST. I’m my order stays by May 13. I ordered the 42mm Space Grey Sport. When I clicked on the picture of the watch to purchase, it already said Shipping April 24 – May 5, so in 8 minutes it dropped to 4 weeks.
Stupid question, do you go around asking that of everyone that buys and wears a watch?
42mm Space Grey Sport- 3:11 AM “4-6 weeks”
Man this posting interface is bad. Posted this in wrong spot:
How about a poll asking “why do you think you need one?”. Options: a. It’s magical, b. It’s Apple, c. The meth got me tripping balls.
Didn’t ordered one! :p I’m waiting for some generations (4 or 5) before, to have a real interesting product! :)
As someone who has been using a first gen. Pebble, I’m already accustomed to using a sudo-smartwatch. In fact, I’ve become to acclimated to having my Pebble and its features, I can’t go without it or go back to a normal watch. To me, regardless of the Apple Watch being first gen, it’s already leaps and bounds over the Pebble, minus one area, battery life. That is one area that I’ll need to adjust, but as far as features, the Apple Watch is going to be night and day. It will get even better later this year with software updates and native apps.
You’re going to wait 4 or 5 years to get the Apple Watch because it’s not interesting now? To each their own I guess haha. I’m not interested in an Apple Watch or any smartwatch either for at least as long as they aren’t completely ubiquitous like smartphones are now.
I ordered the Space Black Stainless steel. I need something durable and wanted Space Black. Seemed like the only band option was the link bracelet which I was hoping to order separately as a Christmas present. Ordered at 12:06 PDT so within minutes of App coming online and ordered with Apple Pay, super fast. But still no indication of when the watch will ship.
I went with the Space Gray Sport with black Sport band.
I’m just bummed I have to wait almost another month to have it. My shipping estimate is May 13 – 27. Yuck!
I’m in the same ballpark, with the same shipping dates. I was on there and ordered through the app, and it’s still that late. I ordered in less than 8 minutes too.
I didn’t get the one I wanted so I settled for the steel 42 with sport band but I’m thinking about canceling and waiting on 2nd generation.
Why do they not have the Modern Buckle for the 42mm Apple Watch?!
They are pitching it as a buckle for women. Not sure why as, from photos at least, it looks unisex.
I expect they’ll release it later on. Or I’ll get some nice 3rd party options later this fall.
I fully expect a slow-rolling set of updates, rehashes and styles coming forth. They did hire a luxury brand CEO for their SVP Retail.
Apple – now opening a store at the crossroads of Tech and Fashion.
Learnt by experience that it is best to wait for 2nd edition. Just think how many iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users will be left with stale tech when the 6S comes out. Same applies to the MacBook. First edition buyers tend to be the “Test Lab Subjects” that ends up making the 2nd edition more solid.
That’s not always true, I had a first Gen Pebble, I had the first gen iPhone and each iPhone after that. You can’t sit around waiting for the next gen, because there will always be a better generation. Instead of looking at the glass as half empty, look at it as half full. Enjoy being an early adapter, the pride that comes with it, the experience you’ll have and the benefits of using it. You’ll also be able to sell it for at least half the next year (if you keep it nice) to someone who can’t afford the first or second gen at full price.
Pride??
Yeah, but then why don’t you wait for the 7 to come out, all those 6s phones will be stale as well.
No way. I had the 3GS, 4S and was late to get an iPhone5. Was always upset b/c I usually amortize my purchase over 18mo+, and I personally am happy I got the iPhone6.
Even if they had Force Touch for the 6S/7 or some other whiz-bang tech, my current phone (with TouchID – yay) is absolutely my favorite phone ever.
Isn’t it space grey and no space black?
Nope: http://store.apple.com/us/buy-watch/apple-watch
I got what I wanted (42mm Space Gray Sport) but the experience was unbelievable. Thanks to buying advice on iMore, I had set up as a favorite and used the iPhone Apple Store App, got in at 2:02 (CDT) and had order and confirmation email at 2:04 showing “Delivers: 4/24-5/8” – so what’s with that – where’s the 4/24 confirmed delivery? From their it got even weirder. Had to go back to order a second charging cable, and by the time I fought my way through that, it was 2:15, and it ships 4/23-4/28 (great – cable but maybe no watch).
Now the grand finale – for grins I go back and look through availabilities (only checking the 42mm mind you):
Sport – green and pink still showing 4/24-5/8; all others 4-6 weeks except Space Gray – June!
Steel – all are 4-6 weeks except Space Black – July!
Edition – June, July, and August (from lowest to highest price model).
Insane – are they hand making these things? Or are they reserving inventory for order by fitting appointments?
PS – it blows my mind that according to this poll they sold at least $1,000,000 of Edition watches by readers here – I would have thought less than a dozen (I guess someone could be fibbing)…
Someone fibbing on a poll? Say it isn’t so!
The poll results from another popular site were similar.
Ordered two space gray sport with black bands, 38 and 42mm, at 2:05am CDT with ship dates ranging from 13 to 27 May.
Waiting for Apple to offer watches created from recycled Ford Pinto bumpers.
Same as many others here, I got in the Apple Store at 3:03am EST and ordered my 42mm Apple Watch Sport in Space Gray at 3:06am with shipping “in 4 – 6 weeks” and delivery “May 13 – May 27th”
I got what I wanted… so stinkin’ easy with ApplePay! through my 6Plus. As soon as the AppleStore came up at 12:02… picked the AppleWatch with white Sportsband – then says Buy – fingerprint verification – Voila! at 12:03.
At 12:04 I had my email notification it’s being processed.
That peeps is why APPLE is the best! Smooth as a butter transaction!
I have to say that was my first experience with Apple pay and it was amazingly simple.
Yeah, wasn’t calculating the tax in (so was scared I had accidentally ordered the wrong model), but before I knew it, my finger was recognized and my payment processed.
Scary fast :)
I suspect most people noting that they had bought the gold edition watch are like me. There was no choice for didn’t buy one and we wanted to see the poll results.
There is a “view results” button right next to the “vote” button.
I preferred the space black, but didn’t want to wait until June. I went with the Classic Buckle and added a stainless steel link band. I should get the watch in the 4/24-5/8 window and the link band a few days after that. I’m reasonably satisfied.
Hopped on the apple store app at 2am (central), I already had the stainless steel/sport band added as a favorite, 4 clicks and 2 minutes later I was ordered and going back to sleep. Best Apple order experience I’ve ever had.
I slept through my alarm but was still able to get the classic band in the initial window ordering at 4:00am Central. The process was smooth with Apple Pay. The hardest part was clearing a fraud alert from Chase.
No poll for multiple straps? Which do I pick if I ordered three?
The only comment I will make make is I am disapointed in apple in that I ordered 8 minutes after the site went live and the ship dates were already 4-6 weeks out. They never intended to have the watches in our hands at 4/24/15 which meant they lied to the public and have lost my trust. As I was ordering the product for my wife’s Birthday 4/30/15, it said 4/24, until I paid, and then it sent the confirmation email saying the ship dates were from 5/13 to 5/27. What a bunch of crap. I got up that early for what? Never again for them
I ordered two watches one for my wife the Sport in Pink, and the stainless with Milanese band for me..
I actually cried reading that
Yeah. With me it was 12:02, ordered from a previously saved favourite, order complete by 12:03, aaaannnddd ….
… it will get to me in a month and a half.
What bothers me the most this morning, is the fact that no tech site is actually prepared to say out loud that Apple fucked this up. That as you say, they didn’t even *intend* for it to be available by the 24th as they had no f*cking stock and they knew it.
All the press this morning is just a variation of “It’s so popular it’s sold out!” and “Apple tried it’s best but …” etc. It’s all bullshit and collusive hype.
F-you Apple. F-you and all your elitist, rich guy bullshit. Steve Jobs spent a lifetime building a brand without caring about it as a “brand” per se, and Tim Cook is going to spend the rest of his life milking that brand. It’s all BS with Apple now.
Sitting here in Sweden, unable to buy anything.
– have to stay up till three AM
– website doesn’t go live till 3:10
– no launch day delivery
– no launch day pickup
– delivery late May
– find out that everybody using the app was able to order at 3AM
I ordered immediately when the site launced it took 8 minutes to order and I still will not get the watch until 5/13 to 5/27. They never intended to get you the watch by 4/24 because they can’t, and my wife’s birthday is 4/30 and this was for that. So I am disappointed in that they should have admitted that upfront. I went to bed early and awoke the site was late getting up, and I had already picked the watch and as soon as it was live I added it to my cart, and paid, so I could not have been any quicker, it was there system, so how could I have been any faster, nobody could have, so nobody is getting that sport watch online to their home by 4/24. They just do not have it. Big mistake by them, they lost my trust, and I have spent over $15,000 over the years on there products and they have never totally mislead the public this badly before. They just kept you believing, I knew there would be minimal stock, so I got up intentionally at 1:45 am central time just to do this for my wife for nothing. They needed to tell the public that the watches were never going to be arriving to your home until middle of May. It is the right thing to do, and they usually do it.
Honestly, for situations like yours – would you have paid a premium to get one early? Maybe that’s what Apple should do if they really can’t go mass-production immediately with 99.999% quality (a tall order).
I think I did wrong, I didn’t know it was possible to configure the band with the Apple Watch. I wanted the black Black Case with Milanese Loop band, but as I checked I thought that to buy it I was forced to buy with the other band, the Steel Link Bracelet.
Just be sure, it was possible to buy the Black Case with the Milanese Loop band? Did I miss something?
The Space Black and Space Grey only seems to offer either the Link Bracelet or Black Fluoroelastomer band. The Milanese Loop band is either sold exclusively to the Stainless Steel watch, but you can buy the loop separate, which is what I did for my Silver Sport.
Thanks a lot for the light on the issue Thomas.
Maybe it’s my lack of fashion sense but I don’t see the point in getting more than the base (sport) model. It’s not like the other ones are faster. And this is a first gen Apple Watch. Gen 2 might be worth the extra $$.
The Sport model is just for fitness. So if you want to use it as an actual watch, you’d want to get more than just the sport band. Like if you were going to a wedding or on a date, or going to an important meeting, you’d look like quite the dork with the Sport version, right?
The Sport Watch is for this who want to use it to exercise only and won’t be wearing it 24/7 as a watch.
I work an an engineer and spend most of my day out in the field. The sport made perfect sense to me. important meeting? If its important they care more about what you’re there to say and now what you choose to have on your wrist.
I wouldn’t wear an apple watch to a wedding or on a date anyways.
Don’t be so narrow minded. Everyone has different needs and tastes.
I got the 42mm stainless steal with the black sport and then just ordered the Milanese loop for dressier occasions. I also ended up springing for a lamp that will charge my phone and watch and iPad together. So many cords . I can’t deal with all that mess by my bed.
I decided not to purchase an Apple Handcuff.
Now I see why my 42mm Space Grey was already saying 4-6 weeks at 3:04….That’s what everyone else wanted too! More than double all the silver sports combined. My guess is a lot of the reason is it’s the only sport with a black band.
I;m from Germany, and I ordered my Apple Watch Sport with a green wrist. I paid already for my watch and now I hope very much, that it won;t take a lot of time, till I get it delivered. I would like to have my Apple Watch by the end of April. Would be very great.
SS Space Black with Link Bracelet. I ordered only 8 minutes after they went on sale after wasting 7+ minutes with apple.com/store. Buying it through the Apple Store app with Apple Pay literally took less than 15 seconds. Still, even 8 minutes in, I got a June shipping confirmation—no date, just “June”.
Since the sku I ordered was the most expensive non-Edition Apple Watch, it never occurred to me that they would be back ordered less than 10 minutes after going on sale.
None of the above – I already have a couple of watches that I don’t wear now. And I don’t wear them now because I don’t wear watches. So Apple Watch, while for many people, you will be rad to have, it makes no difference to me because I’ll not be in the market for one because, all together people, I. Don’t. Wear. Watches!
So I just got back from my Apple Store Watch appointment. Here are my thoughts:
– The watch feels insanely high quality. Even on the sport version (which I ordered), it had a great weight that’s enough to feel reliable, but also not too heavy on the wrist. It’s also something you just have to see in person to believe; it has a gorgeous shine and display that can’t be portrayed in Apple’s online 3D renders and photographs.
– The 42mm watch is not massive. I have tiny wrists, so I was considering preordering the 38mm, but ultimately I got the 42mm. In retrospective, it was a good choice. The watch face at most will take up about 9/10 of your wrist, and then you can vary your band sizes to make sure it fits around your wrist.
– The fluoroelastomer bands are nice. In all honesty, they’re a bit lighter and thinner feeling than I anticipated (my $60 Timex watch has a heavier rubber band). However, you put it around your wrist and you feel assured it can take a beating. As for the Milanese loop, my god am I glad I preordered one. It’s absolutely stunning and feels AMAZING on the wrist. The tiny loops are woven insanely close together, and it has this amazingly shiny gleam that makes the watch instantly feel more luxurious.
– The taptic feedback was one of my favourite parts. Exactly how your iPhone does two short little vibrations for a new message opposed to a single short one for other notifications, each notification gave me a slightly different vibration pattern that felt very pleasant and non-intrusive. I know there were a lot of complains from reviewers that there were too many default notifications, but just to feel this new sensation, I would keep a lot of them on, personally.
– The Force Touch actually takes a little bit more force than I anticipated. This is actually a good thing, thinking about it. I just assumed you make a slightly heavier press (or maybe it distinguished a longer press) and it would work, but it takes about the amount of pressure it takes to hold the home button on your iPhone to activate Siri. That’s the closest representation I can give.
– And speaking of Siri, the voice recognition works beautifully. The Specialist assisting me pulled up the live demo, and in a large Apple Store filled with loud voices, she dictated at it and it picked up every word immediately. I can see myself using Siri even more for quick little tidbits.
– The Digital Crown is smooth, very smooth. It’s much smoother feeling than a classic wristwatch crown, and with just one turn, I could get an instant feel of how much I needed to turn it to scroll through content efficiently.
– Let me address something personal here- using the Watch as a left-handed person. Instinctively, I put the watch on my right wrist, and actually forgot to turn it upside down into “lefty mode”. You see, I originally thought having the crown on the opposite side would be a hassle, but it was actually more natural for me to use it as is on my right wrist. Any previous users of wristwatches know that the crown sits on the outside of the watch anyways, so it’s a very smooth transition to use it as is.
– Digital Touch is charming, but I feel it will be a tad bit underused. Even with my insanely skinny fingers, it’s a bit hard to sketch something the exact way you want to on the tiny screen, but I suppose it gets the job done. The taps and heartbeat work well. Still don’t agree with their choice of emojis though, it feels like long step back into an older Windows machine or something. Not really the flat, clean look we’re more used to for iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite.
– I’m in Canada, so Apple Pay was just not set up on the watch. I playfully hinted at the feature at the Specialist, and she had that same slight disappointed look that all of us Canadians have over the lack of the feature. Really Apple, please let us pay with our phones and watches ASAP.
– The Photos app was actually my most concerning feature when the watch was first announced. The overall view of the photos was microscopic, and trying to find something seemed insanely tedious. Today I tried it, and discovered if you pan through the gallery in a semi-zoomed view, you can easily tell what photo you’re going for. Then, just zoom in all the way with the crown. It’s not a bad way to show someone a photo without digging out your phone.
– Let’s look at the feature I’ll be using the most, the Activity and Workout apps. The watches you can physically wear during the preview period just continuously run a demo mode, and the live watches are fixed into the display tables. For this reason, the heartbeat sensor just can’t be demonstrated at this time. However, from a first glance, the apps give you a solid foundation to track your workouts, and efficiently remind you to stand every hour, which for my 10-6 office desk job, is super important.
– Glances seem to be quite useful, but once again, the live models were not hooked up to a working iPhone. I really hope the reviews showcasing how slow it loads is not too gruesome. I would love to initially set up my first glance as the music controller for my walks.
– Notifications do their job, but I could see it starting to get cluttered over time. Much like the iPhone, you’ll want to clear these when you can instead of constantly dismissing all of them. It’ll be tempting to dismiss them too, since all you have to do is lower the watch.
– The last thing to note: I only wore the watch for about 10-15 minutes total. After I took it off and left the store, I immediately felt like my wrist was naked. I MISSED the weight of it on my wrist, and I very much missed the little taptic vibrations I was getting during the demo. This can only be a good sign if I’m going to be wearing it all day.
And a couple things about the appointments themselves:
– Don’t expect to sit there for as long as you want and test every single version. I got to the two variants I ordered, with a mix of testing out some of the actual on-board features.
– There’s a lot of features that the Specialists haven’t had access to like us, so don’t expect to go in and get all of your nitty-gritty details confirmed as of yet.
– The Apple Store I went to (which is in one of BC’s biggest malls) didn’t have any lineups whatsoever outside of the store, but when someone came up to the table to look at the watch, the Specialist mentioned a queue. I’m not sure how bad the lineups without appointments are.
– There is absolutely no choice to preorder in store once you try versions on in store. Once your basic questions are answered, the Specialist thanks you and you basically just leave.
And finally, here’s the 42mm Watch with the Milanese loop on my tiny wrist. As you can see, sizing is good and the loop is gorgeous.
http://i.imgur.com/Ft2WV7g.jpg?1
Thanks for looking this over if you do, I’ll answer questions if I can.
Nice, detailed review of the process. Thanks.
I would say that the 42mm watch in the picture is absolutely oversized for your wrist though. You should totally get the 38mm instead.
I actually tried on the 38mm and found I was struggling to tap some of the tiny UI icons properly with the tiny screen. I didn’t really like how much lighter it felt either, but that’s personal preference, I suppose.
I updated all of my apple sign in stuff thursday. (shipping and payment info, and checked the sport watch with blue band 38mm as a favorite). I set my alarm to 2:58EST. I was not able to log in for a couple of minutes on my computer, so I used my phone (wifi turned off because I figured it had to do with comcast). I was able to log into my apple account and finish the buying process. My watch delivers 4/24-5/8.
This is incredible! So looking at those votes, Apple have sold almost 10,000 watches just to 9to5mac readers!
Ironic, on the day the Apple Watch was launched (10 April) I bought a Moto 360. Awesome too. (Prefer the styling and think Google Wear/Now is way more intelligent so offers greater potential as a wearable AI long term. All said, Google will port Wear to iOS soon, so I guess it won’t matter.)
Over 11,000 now, and I’m not surprised. Despite being a smartwatch skeptic myself, I can still understand why so many people rushed to buy.
Definitely wanted Space Grey with black band, so that’s what I preordered. No watch until June though. Probably a good thing, so that I can save up to pay for it!
Has anyones Order Status changed from Processing Order to Preparing for Shipment? I’m not sure if my card has been authorized yet.