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Apple Watch Launching in 'Spring' According to Apple Retail Chief Angela Ahrendts

Sunday November 2, 2014 8:44 pm PST by Richard Padilla
In a video message sent out to retail employees, Apple's Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts revealed that the Apple Watch will be launching in the Spring of next year, reports 9To5Mac. The timeframe given is slightly more specific than Apple's own launch projection of "early next year", which was shared during its initial unveil of the Apple Watch back in September.

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"So, again, we do - you guys were hired because you're the best people in the world. And you know how to service customers, but we are sprinting a marathon and it's not going to stop. Right? 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."
The report also notes that Apple will be training its retail employees on how to introduce customers to the Apple Watch. Apple Retail Stores will allow customers to try on the wearable device and experience the different sizes and bands offered. The Apple Watch's presence at the company's retail stores are said to be a big emphasis for Ahrendts, who believes that sales of the device will help deepen relationships with customers.

A source briefed on Apple's plans for the Apple Watch told The Information in September that the company would be "lucky to ship it by Valentine's Day." That report stated that Apple planned to have the watch ready to ship in time for the 2014 holiday season, but had problems finishing software development in time. Hints of a delay on the software side first surfaced shortly after the device's unveiling, as members of the press who were invited to spend some hands-on time with the devices noted that none of the display units were running the actual Watch OS operating system.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5
Tags: Angela Ahrendts, Apple retail
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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gp101
54 months ago
Come on!!

Rating: 48 Votes
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saving107
54 months ago
So we just continue to wait some more.

Rating: 36 Votes
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himanshumodi
54 months ago
I can not imagine what segment of users will buy this. For folks who wear watches as an accessory... they aren't going to move away from their Rolexes. For folks who want health related stuff tracked, there are cheaper options available. There simply can't be a value that the watch will provide being a part of an ecosystem that's worth 350 bucks.

Edit - But then hey... Apple knows what I want better than I do I guess
Rating: 27 Votes
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Kaibelf
54 months ago

After seeing the iPad Air 2, this style of hardware design feels like a step backwards to me.


Agreed. I very much prefer the superior and equally functional watch you designed. What was it called again? :rolleyes:
Rating: 25 Votes
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eastamherstbias
54 months ago

That's disappointing. I was hoping for February. "Spring" could be June 20, but hopefully it is more like April.


By that time, Samsung will have released 25 Galaxy Devices.
Rating: 19 Votes
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jwbrobst
54 months ago
After seeing the iPad Air 2, this style of hardware design feels like a step backwards to me.
Rating: 16 Votes
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bmunge
54 months ago

Might be just me, but am I the only one who thinks Apple has better hardware for their smart watch, but Google seems to have better UI & software for their's?


I don't think so. Google's approach seems to be shrinking the phone interface down. It looks clunky and the animations are very basic and generic. I don't find Android very appealing visually though so it's hard for me to appreciate what they are doing with wearables. To me Apple is the only company so far to try and apply new UX paradigms to the smart watch. I'm looking forward to seeing how they work in practice.
Rating: 11 Votes
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TigerMSTR
54 months ago

After seeing the iPad Air 2, this style of hardware design feels like a step backwards to me.


How can you compare the design of a tablet computer to that of jewelry? :mad:
Rating: 11 Votes
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diegogaja
54 months ago
The first 4 words of your post is all you really needed to say....

I can not imagine what segment of users will buy this. For folks who wear watches as an accessory... they aren't going to move away from their Rolexes. For folks who want health related stuff tracked, there are cheaper options available. There simply can't be a value that the watch will provide being a part of an ecosystem that's worth 350 bucks.

Edit - But then hey... Apple knows what I want better than I do I guess

Rating: 9 Votes
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AppleScruff1
54 months ago

By that time, Samsung will have released 25 Galaxy Devices.


And people here will claim they copied Apple.
Rating: 8 Votes

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