Apple Watch Expands to John Lewis and Currys Stores in the United Kingdom

After being sold at a few high-end boutiques around the United Kingdom in the Spring, it was recently announced that the Apple Watch would begin hitting some more mainstream UK-based department stores, including John Lewis (via Wareable) and Currys. Besides the high-end locations, prior to this announcement the only place for UK customers to purchase an Apple Watch was in an Apple Store.

478248-apple-watch-bands
Currys' impending sale of the Apple Watch was discovered in late August, but no specific date was known at the time. With the announcement of the Apple Watch coming to John Lewis department stores, it appears that Apple's new wearable will launch at both locations on the same day, September 18. Thirty-seven of John Lewis' forty-four stores in the UK will be getting the Apple Watch, with four more confirming availability by Christmas.

"We believe Apple Watch will be one of the most sought after gifts this Christmas," said Will Jones, head of buying communication technology at John Lewis. We expect a couple more British retailers to follow but Apple isn't going to rush to remove the air of exclusivity around the Watch it is still just about maintaining.

Currys is a bit more proliferated in the UK than John Lewis, with 295 superstores and 73 high street stores located in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. Both John Lewis and Currys will also provide online support for Apple Watch sales, with Currys letting customers put in a pre-order for the device on their website right now. As of writing, the John Lewis website just has a simple placeholder page with information for customers about the new device.

The expansion of the Apple Watch has been growing since its launch in April, with Best Buy stores now widely selling the device -- and even AppleCare and a few of its accessories -- in the United States and Canada. Fnac locations in France also began selling the Apple Watch in late August. The recent confirmation of John Lewis and Currys locations joining in the support of selling the wearable device on September 18 will come just two days after the release of watchOS 2, as well.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices from credible sources. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X...
iPhone 16 Battery Life Feature

iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:02 am PDT by
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode. Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer." The full description of...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone Reportedly Moving to All-Screen Design in Two Stages

Sunday June 22, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
Apple has long been working towards an iPhone with an all-screen design, and it might finally achieve the feat in a few more years from now. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple will shrink the size of the Dynamic Island on new iPhone models released next year. A year after that, he expects Apple to release a redesigned 20th-anniversary iPhone model....
ios 26 control center b2

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 2

Monday June 23, 2025 2:57 pm PDT by
Apple provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26, introducing the first changes and refinements to the new operating system since it debuted after the WWDC keynote. Because we're early in the beta testing process, there are quite a few tweaks to iOS 26, which we've rounded up below. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Control Center The background behind the...
ios 26 control center b2

iOS 26 Beta 2 Fixes Control Center Design

Monday June 23, 2025 10:58 am PDT by
With the second beta of iOS 26 that Apple provided to developers today, Apple addressed one of the major complaints that people have had with Liquid Glass. iOS 26 beta 1 on left, iOS 26 beta 2 on right The Control Center buttons are now slightly more opaque, making it easier to see the different control options even on a multicolored background. The new, more opaque look is apparent with the ...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro's Alleged Vapor Chamber Cooling System Partly Revealed

Sunday June 22, 2025 6:37 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models are rumored to be equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, and a leaker known as Majin Bu today shared a photo of an alleged copper thermal plate for the system. Many high-end Android smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, which can manage heat dissipation inside the...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Tuesday June 24, 2025 3:40 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

watchOS 26 Adding a Smaller Yet Useful New Watch Face Setting

Monday June 23, 2025 9:39 am PDT by
watchOS 26 is adding a new "Show Data When Locked" setting to the Apple Watch. MacRumors contributor Steve Moser discovered the new setting within the code for the first watchOS 26 beta, and a Reddit user has seemingly found it in action, but we have yet to figure out where it is exactly. Leave a comment if you know. The new privacy setting allows you to toggle on or off the ability to...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adding Two New Wi-Fi Features, Allows AirDrop and AirPlay Alternatives

Saturday June 21, 2025 7:02 am PDT by
iOS 26 is gaining two new Wi-Fi features, including Captive Assist and Wi-Fi Aware. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered a reference to Captive Assist within the code for the first iOS 26 developer beta, but Apple has yet to enable the feature. It should be available by the time the software update is released later this year. In his Power On newsletter last month, Bloomberg's...

Top Rated Comments

Unggoy Murderer Avatar
128 months ago
I've had nothing but dreadful customer service and after sales support from Currys/PC World. Please, if you're wanting to buy an Apple Watch (or anything else to be honest) go somewhere else.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RichTF Avatar
128 months ago
John Lewis and Currys cover very different demographics. I guess it makes obvious business sense for Apple, but feels kinda weird seeing those two brands mentioned together…

For context, Currys is where that John Browett guy came from, the one with (thankfully) a very short stint as the Apple head of retail. John Lewis on the other hand, they're a very respected retailer known for truly excellent customer service — a lot of people recommend buying Apple gear from them instead of an Apple Store, because they provide an additional year's warranty for free.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CB1234 Avatar
128 months ago
You seem to indicate in this article that the Apple Watch is out in Ireland.. It is not, we don't have the Apple Watch anywhere here. Yes currys is in Ireland but the Apple Watch isn't. (Do I sound p*ssed off and annoyed? Yes cos I am, it's so annoying that Apple doesn't release the Apple watch here! WHY? Every iPhone and iPad comes out here within weeks of launch but months and months later still nothing.)
...not to mention that Apple have offices in Cork, Ireland....
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iolinux333 Avatar
128 months ago
('https://www.macrumors.com/2015/09/14/apple-watch-expands-united-kingdom/')


After being sold at a few high-end ('https://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/19/apple-watch-parisian-store/') boutiques ('https://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/01/apple-watch-selfridges-shop/') around the United Kingdom in the Spring, it was recently announced that the Apple Watch would begin hitting some more mainstream UK-based department stores, including John Lewis (via Wareable ('http://www.wareable.com/apple-watch/john-lewis-stores-uk-1669')) and Currys. Besides the high-end locations, prior to this announcement the only place for UK customers to purchase an Apple Watch was in an Apple Store.



Currys' impending sale of the Apple Watch was discovered in late August ('https://www.macrumors.com/2015/08/28/currys-pc-world-apple-watch-sales-uk/'), but no specific date was known at the time. With the announcement of the Apple Watch coming to John Lewis department stores, it appears that Apple's new wearable will launch at both locations on the same day, September 18. Thirty-seven of John Lewis' forty-four stores in the UK will be getting the Apple Watch, with four more confirming availability by Christmas.
Currys is a bit more proliferated in the UK than John Lewis, with 295 superstores and 73 high street stores located in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. Both John Lewis and Currys will also provide online support for Apple Watch sales, with Currys letting customers put in a pre-order for the device ('http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/apple-smart-tech/smart-tech/smart-watches-and-fitness/smart-watches/551_4338_31984_267_xx/xx-criteria.html') on their website right now. As of writing, the John Lewis website just has a simple placeholder page ('http://internal/tab?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnlewis.com%2Felectricals%2Fapple%2Ffind-out-more-about-apple-watch%2Fc9200800064%3Frdr%3D1%26intcmp%3Deht_brand_Apple_Banner_Watch_100915&referrer=about%3Ablank&target=_blank') with information for customers about the new device.

The expansion of the Apple Watch has been growing since its launch in April, with Best Buy stores now widely selling the device -- and even AppleCare ('http://internal/tab?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F2015%2F08%2F17%2Fbest-buy-applecare-september-13%2F&referrer=about%3Ablank&target=_blank') and a few of its accessories -- in the United States ('http://internal/tab?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F2015%2F08%2F25%2Fbest-buy-accelerating-apple-watch%2F&referrer=about%3Ablank&target=_blank') and Canada ('http://internal/tab?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F2015%2F08%2F14%2Fapple-watch-harvey-norman-australia%2F&referrer=about%3Ablank&target=_blank'). Fnac locations in France also began selling the Apple Watch ('http://internal/tab?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F2015%2F08%2F20%2Fapple-watch-expands-france%2F&referrer=about%3Ablank&target=_blank') in late August. The recent confirmation of John Lewis and Currys locations joining in the support of selling the wearable device on September 18 will come just two days after the release of watchOS 2 ('http://internal/tab?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F2015%2F09%2F09%2Fwatchos2-release-date-apple-watch%2F&referrer=about%3Ablank&target=_blank'), as well.

Article Link: Apple Watch Expands to John Lewis and Currys Stores in the United Kingdom ('http://internal/tab?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macrumors.com%2F2015%2F09%2F14%2Fapple-watch-expands-united-kingdom%2F&referrer=about%3Ablank&target=_blank')
It seems to me that if Apple wants to sell more watches, rather than put it in more locations, they need to drop the price of this iPhone accessory down to $99 or so so it can be an impulse buy.

For $350, it needs to be an independent standalone device with a cellular radio.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KPOM Avatar
128 months ago
Well then I'm confused. Why wouldn't Apple sell the watch in stores where it already sells other Apple products? OK maybe it won't come to Walmart but places like Best Buy and Currys don't surprise me at all. What's the equivalent to John Lewis in the US? Is it more Nordstrom or Bergdoff Goodman/Barneys?
I'd say John Lewis is a step above Macy's in the U.S. It's not as high end as Bergdoff Goodman (that's Selfridge's).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
markfc Avatar
128 months ago
Do Apple UK have a clue what they're doing?

John Lewis I get, but Currys/PC World?

Did they learn nothing from John Browett???
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)