Apple Watch Orders Will Remain Exclusively Online Through May, Deliveries Begin April 24

Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts issued an internal memo to retail employees on Thursday that helps eliminate some of the confusion surrounding the launch of the wrist-worn device. The memo, a roughly translated copy of which was obtained by iGen.fr, states that Apple Watch orders will continue to be taken exclusively online through May and that deliveries will begin April 24 as planned.

"The feedback from customers is overwhelmingly positive. They are excited about Apple Watch, and your teams are creating fantastic experiences for them. Customers who pre-ordered will start receiving deliveries next Friday as planned, and I know you will do a great job helping set them up.

Many of you have been asking if we will have the Apple 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, purpose we expect this to continue through the month of May."

Apple Watch Trio
With no walk-in purchases of the Apple Watch available at Apple Stores until at least June, and product reservations for in-store pickup not available yet, it would appear that the Apple Watch's upcoming April 24 launch day could be quieter than usual. The long lines that typically accompany an iPhone launch, for example, could be a lot shorter than usual at many Apple retail stores around the world.

Fortunately, disappointed customers can rest assured that Apple's iconic lineups will not be going away forever. Ahrendts ensured in her memo to retail employees that not all Apple products will launch the same way as the Apple Watch, adding that both Apple and its customers love the long lines and that there will be many more of them to come in the future.

"I know this is a different experience for our customers, and has changed for you as well. Are we going to launch every product this way from now on? No. We all love those blockbuster Apple product launch days and there will be many more to come. They're the times where you, our teams, shine. And our customers love them as well!"

Likely to reflect that many customers will not be receiving their pre-orders by April 24, and that in-store availability on launch day, if any, will be very limited, Apple changed the tagline on its website on late Wednesday to read "the Watch is coming" instead of "available 4.24.15" as it previously showed. Apple Watch pre-orders began on April 10 at 12:01 AM Pacific and sold out in less than six hours.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro and Air Feature

Two iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air Colors Appear to Scratch More Easily

Friday September 19, 2025 10:02 am PDT by
As reported by Bloomberg today, some of the new iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air models on display at Apple Stores today are already scratched and scuffed. French blog Consomac also reported on this topic. The scratches appear to be most prominent on models with darker finishes, including the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max in Deep Blue, and the iPhone Air in Space Black. Images Credit: Consoma ...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone Like 'Two Titanium iPhone Airs' Joined at the Hinge

Monday September 22, 2025 2:16 am PDT by
Next year's rumored foldable iPhone will showcase an ultra-thin design resembling "two titanium iPhone Airs side-by-side," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in the Q&A section of his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says Apple's first foldable device will be "super thin and a design achievement," combining Apple's thinnest iPhone form factor with cutting-edge folding...
Apple Intelligence General Feature 2

iOS 26.1 Adds New Apple Intelligence Languages and Expands AirPods Live Translation

Monday September 22, 2025 11:15 am PDT by
With iOS 26.1, Apple Intelligence is gaining support for additional languages, including Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. Apple announced plans to expand the languages that can be used with Apple Intelligence last year, and now the added language support is here. Apple Intelligence is now available in the following...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

Some iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone Air Users Experiencing Intermittent Wi-Fi Issue

Monday September 22, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple's latest iPhone models launched on Friday, and some early adopters of the devices are experiencing intermittent Wi-Fi issues. Affected customers say Wi-Fi connectivity periodically cuts out on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, with hundreds of comments about the issue posted across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community over the...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Coming Soon, Likely With iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro Fix

Thursday September 18, 2025 9:17 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. The update will have a build number of 23A350, or similar, the account said. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's Henry T. ...

Top Rated Comments

Roy Hobbs Avatar
136 months ago
Get this woman out of Apple. She's in way over her head.

She's in charge of the retails stores not manufacturing or logistics.
Getting rid of her still wouldn't fix the lack of Apple Watches
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ZombiePete Avatar
136 months ago
Get this woman out of Apple. She's in way over her head.

I'm not following how this is Ahrendt's fault? She doesn't control the production of the device; if there were issues that delayed manufacturing and left them with less stock to work with, she's taking the only really logical choice available to her. This also shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention; she stated before that they would be selling the Watch online only for the time-being, she's just now formally acknowledging that they definitively won't be selling the Watch to walk-ins on the 24th.

Frankly, I think this is a refreshing new transparency for Apple when it comes to a product launch that you don't see very often.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FoundAHalo Avatar
136 months ago
Get this woman out of Apple. She's in way over her head.

You mean "this woman" who was recruited from being a successful CEO of a fashion empire. Yes, she must be totally in way over her head launching a fashion-oriented product...
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
clcnyc Avatar
136 months ago
Please

Get this woman out of Apple. She's in way over her head.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tkermit Avatar
136 months ago
"This woman"? Wow, sexist much?

Not necessarily. The remark is clearly meant to be derogatory, but the fact that she's a woman is merely incidental. If it had been Brewett people would be calling for getting "that man" out of Apple. Not all derogatory remarks aimed towards women are sexist. Neither is calling a woman a 'woman' instead of by her name necessarily sexist.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sulpfiction Avatar
136 months ago
It makes total sense not to have watches in store on the 24th. It would be a mess! Hundreds of people lined up all wanting different sizes, styles, bands, etc. it would be a complete disaster! Especially since it's a totally new product category that apple isn't used to. people might be mad now, but not as mad as u would be if u stood in line all night only to walk away from the store without a watch at all. There would literally be technerd riots all over the world. I think it was a really smart decision at this point.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)