Apple Watch Debit and Credit Card Charges Begin in the UK, Germany, and France

A few MacRumors readers have taken to the forums to confirm that Apple has begun charging many users based out of the UK, Germany, and France who got in an Apple Watch pre-order early on April 10.

applewatchemojis
The charges in the United Kingdom, Germany, and France come after customers in the United States yesterday began first experiencing charges taken from their debit or credit cards, followed by a change of order status from "Processing Items" to "Preparing for Shipment", for a select group of customers.

As reported earlier yesterday, bulk shipments of Apple's new wearable began arriving at centralized distribution centers across the United States in preparation for the April 24 launch date this Friday. Despite the forward momentum of the news over the past day or so, there still has not been any change to the initial 4/24 - 5/8 delivery date estimate for all of the Apple Watch's early pre-order customers.

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

Popular Stories

apple store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
General Apps Messages Redux

Singapore Orders Changes to iMessage by December

Tuesday November 25, 2025 6:39 am PST by
Singapore has ordered Apple to block or filter messages on iMessage that impersonate government agencies, requiring the company to implement new anti-spoofing protections by December as part of efforts to curb rising online scams, the Straits Times reports. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that it had issued an Implementation Directive to Apple under the Online Criminal Harms...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red Green

The 30+ Best Black Friday Apple Deals on AirPods, iPads, MacBooks, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 6:46 am PST by
Black Friday is finally here, and as always this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...

Top Rated Comments

lellis2k Avatar
138 months ago
Note to self: next time I think "I'll wait and see what people think about this new Apple product" just stop being stupid and order it at midnight.
Estimated Dispatch: June :(
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hlfway2anywhere Avatar
138 months ago
Weird because literally nobody with a 42mm stainless steel w/black sport band has changed status yet.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lotabob Avatar
138 months ago
My bank account just got lighter. No progress on the Apple order status though. It's so funny. Adults (me included) getting so hyped about money going out of our accounts. The exact opposite of normal.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cleareyes Avatar
138 months ago
Does this mean they're supposed to have finished in the US & Canada, because I still haven't been charged in Canada and I had an 4/24-5/8 conformation at 3:04am EDT
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hankkk Avatar
138 months ago
Beta testers just like the iPad1 , I'll wait and get the slimmer, faster, better watch next year that will have support for years to come

Good for you
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MarkW19 Avatar
138 months ago
For those worrying about their order status not yet changing to 'preparing for shipping' (as I have been): I sent a message to Barclaycard to confirm what the pending charges were that weren't yet listed, and they confirmed it was £519 from the Apple Online Store (the price of my SS w/sport band watch). I've checked online, and Apple only process these pending charges when they're preparing an item for despatch, and they then fully charge the card as soon as the item has left them.

Bottom line: if you have a pending charge for your watch - regardless of your current order status - I'm sure you'll get it on Friday. There's plenty of time for the order status to update to preparing and then shipped between now and then, it could even happen as late as Thursday since all UK orders will be shipped next-day anyway.

It's put my mind at rest anyway...now here's to getting to Friday, what a long couple of weeks this has been!!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)