Apple Watch Order Statuses Shifting to 'Preparing for Shipment'

Apple Watch order statuses have begun changing from "Processing Items" to "Preparing for Shipment" as Apple gets ready to send out the first Apple Watch orders to customers who pre-ordered their devices on Friday, April 10. Apple Watch orders that have changed to "Preparing for Shipment" are still listing prospective delivery dates of 4/24 to 5/8, but the first orders are expected to begin arriving on Friday April 24, the official launch date of the Apple Watch. Now that order statuses have shifted, customers should begin receiving shipment emails in the near future.

applewatchpreparingforshipment2
The change to customer order statuses comes just minutes after Apple began charging credit and debit cards for Apple Watch purchases. As we have previously mentioned, bulk shipments of the Apple Watch have already been arriving at central distribution centers across the United States from China, where the Apple Watch was manufactured. Apple Watch orders will ship out from these central distribution centers via Fedex and UPS, so despite the late shipping date, many devices will arrive on Friday.

With the iPhone 6, Apple also shipped hundreds of thousands of devices to central distribution centers before updating customers on the status of their orders. iPhones began shipping out on Monday and Tuesday for a Friday delivery, and it's likely Apple Watch orders will follow the same general timeline.

Deliveries could come from any of the major shipping hubs in the United States, which include Memphis, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky (UPS' WorldPort location); Indianapolis, Indiana; Newark, New Jersey; and Oakland, California. Many orders are likely to pass first through Anchorage, Alaska, where both UPS and FedEx have logistics centers, before heading out to other distribution sites.

The earliest Apple Watch pre-orders listed ambiguous delivery dates of 4/24 to 5/8, but Apple's head of retail Angela Ahrendts stated in a memo to employees last week that "customers who pre-ordered will start receiving deliveries next Friday as planned," so customers who managed to pre-order in the minutes before shipping dates started slipping will see deliveries this week.

Once an order changes to Preparing for Shipment, customers may be able to track by reference number using a phone number on the UPS and FedEx websites to get tracking information before a shipping email even goes out.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch Series 9
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Top Rated Comments

sampaul Avatar
113 months ago
Oh my gawddddd!
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nathanalf Avatar
113 months ago
My order hasn't updated yet (42mm Space Grey Sport, 2:04 confirmation email).

Eek


Edit: debit card still not charged either
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jhts Avatar
113 months ago
Mine is still processing, I'm from the UK.

Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
basehart Avatar
113 months ago
I can only imagine how fast Karl Lagerfeld and Beyoncé must have been refreshing their browsers to be able to get their gold watches delivered so quickly.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Patriot24 Avatar
113 months ago
Okay guys and gals,

I just talked to a contact at Apple (he's not a customer support person and that's the most I can say. but he did have information that was being distributed for phone support staff)

he said that they have a memo in which they told their phone support employees that "having a change in your order status is not an indication that you will or will not receive your watch before those who are yet to get an order update."

He went on to describe and insist "A change in order status does not indicate an April 24th delivery and the lack of a change to order status does not indicate that you will not be receiving your product at launch. On the contrary, orders are being processed differently this time around and the specifics of logistics in which bands, which models, which delivery companies, are all contributors in the timing of the status changes and will continue to be processed 24 hours a day. Orders processed today may not ship till Friday, while orders processed tonight may not ship till Monday and orders processed tomorrow may very well arrive Friday."

"The process in which the orders are being scanned and attached to the product for shipment are not being based on time of order specifically. The first come first serve only applies to the delivery window, not to the time of day. All 4/24-5/8 orders, regardless of wether they were 1 minute or 4 minutes after the Site and App went live, will be processed for the same shipping windows. The determination of the products arrival will solely be based on inventory, geographic location, and delivery provider."

"The fact that your order hasn't updated is irrelevant. Your shipping window is your shipping window, regardless. Orders began updating today and will continue to update. With most orders already in the process of shipment, it is a matter of being input into the system. Your devices arrival date has been determined regardless of when you receive the notification at 4:00pm or 4:00am, the outcome will be the same."

Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Picapau21 Avatar
112 months ago
No. You should EXPECT to get the product within the window that was provided by the company with the intent to TEMPER your expectations. It is completely ridiculous to be so invested in something you've never needed before that you can't wrap your entitled and privileged mind around waiting a few days for it.

Maybe some of you should take some of that energy, aggression, and time before getting your watch to see if you can help in any way with disaster relief or just help out some underprivileged people in the area you live. I think you could use some "humbling-down" to remind how unimportant this really is.

Btw I ordered in the first few minutes, have received nothing yet and amazingly I'm still alive.

Look I see your point and its a valid argument and they did provide a 2 week window but unfortunately Apple are benchmarked against a higher standard than most and have a very loyal fan base. Which is why so many people are upset that they didn't receive their watch on launch day. Most people have previously been able to receive launch day products by ordering early.

But i think your comments serve no purpose. I think the importance of material things are relative to the person...the "why don't you go work for a charity" argument is just very weak. Why does any body work? Why do we buy anything? why doesn't anybody share all their wealth and live in a socialist society... Don't indulge because the third world needs food etc etc etc..

It just so happens that many people are quite excited by the new product and are disappointed that they have not received it. As I said you trying to act all high and mighty actually serves no purpose.

I actually work in health care and spend a lot of time at work...as you say "helping people". However I would prefer to spend my free time as I wish...if that means posting on this forum, along with countless other, then I will!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

apple card 1

Apple Ending Apple Card Partnership With Goldman Sachs

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:09 pm PST by
Apple is ending its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple plans to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months, and it is not yet clear if Apple has established a new partnership for the Apple Card. Apple and Goldman Sachs will dissolve their entire consumer partnership, including the Apple Card and the Apple Savings account....
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.2 Beta 4

Tuesday November 28, 2023 12:18 pm PST by
Apple is wrapping up development on iOS 17.2, with the update expected to come out in December. While we're getting to the end of the beta testing period, Apple is still tweaking features and adding new functionality. We've rounded up everything new in the fourth beta of iOS 17.2. Default Notification Sound Under Sounds & Haptics, there's a new "Default Alerts" section that allows you to ...
ios 17 namedrop

Police Departments and News Sites Spreading Misinformation About How iOS 17 NameDrop Feature Works

Monday November 27, 2023 5:11 pm PST by
Apple with iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 introduced a new NameDrop feature that is designed to allow users to place Apple devices near one another to quickly exchange contact information. Sharing contact information is done with explicit user permission, but some news organizations and police departments have been spreading misinformation about how NameDrop functions. As noted by The Washington...
All New CarPlay Five New Features Article 2

What to Expect From All-New CarPlay, Still Listed as Coming 'Late 2023'

Tuesday November 28, 2023 7:44 am PST by
At WWDC in June 2022, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, increased personalization, and more. Apple's website still says the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience will be announced in "late 2023," but it has not shared...
iOS 17

iOS 17.1.2 Update for iPhone Likely to Be Released This Week

Monday November 27, 2023 8:24 am PST by
Apple will likely release iOS 17.1.2 this week, based on mounting evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs in recent days. As a minor update, iOS 17.1.2 should be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues might be addressed. Some users have continued to experience Wi-Fi issues on iOS 17.1.1, so perhaps iOS 17.1.2 will include the same fix for Wi-Fi...
Apple 5G Modem Feature Triad

Apple to Discontinue Custom 5G Modem Development, Claim Reports

Wednesday November 29, 2023 4:19 am PST by
Apple is discontinuing in-house modem development after several unsuccessful attempts to perfect its own custom 5G modem chip, according to unconfirmed reports coming out of Asia. According to the operator of news aggregator account "yeux1122" on the Naver blog, supply chain sources related to Apple's 5G modem departments claim that the company's attempts to develop its own modem have...
Apple Logo

Apple Discontinued These 5 Products This Year

Monday November 27, 2023 7:03 am PST by
As the end of 2023 nears, now is a good opportunity to look back at some of the devices and accessories that Apple discontinued throughout the year. Apple products discontinued in 2023 include the iPhone 13 mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, MagSafe Battery Pack, MagSafe Duo Charger, and leather accessories. Also check out our lists of Apple products discontinued in 2022 and 2021. iPhone Mini ...
Google Drive

Some Google Drive Users' Files Have Mysteriously Vanished

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:55 am PST by
Google Drive users have been warned not to disconnect their account within the Google Drive for desktop app, after a spate of reports of files going missing from the cloud service. Alarm bells began ringing last week on Google's community support site when some users reported files mysteriously disappearing from Google Drive, with some posters claiming six or more months of data had...