Many customers who pre-ordered the Apple Watch over the past two weeks and received an extended shipping estimate of 4-6 weeks or later should receive the wrist-worn device earlier than expected. Apple continues to update several pre-orders with improved delivery estimates, with some Apple Watch orders initially slated for June delivery now shipping as early as this week.
A growing number of users within the MacRumors discussion forums with Apple Watch pre-orders facing June delivery are beginning to receive more specific shipping dates between mid May and early June. Some customers, for example, have delivery estimates of May 14-May 20 or May 28-June 10, and the white 38mm Apple Watch Sport in particular is set to deliver on April 28 for multiple customers.
The timing of deliveries is highly dependant on the model that customers selected, as the Stainless Steel Apple Watch with Link Bracelet and Space Gray models continue to face long lead times, and Space Black models are virtually nonexistent. Apple is still processing many of the orders for those aforementioned models, with delivery estimates remaining at 4-6 weeks or later for many customers.
Apple Watch pre-order deliveries began on April 24 as scheduled, but limited data from Slice Intelligence estimates that only about one-fifth of customers who pre-ordered received their Apple Watches on launch day in the United States. The report, based on e-receipt data from only 10,744 U.S. Apple Watch buyers, extrapolates that only 376,000 of 1.7 million pre-orders were delivered over the weekend, with another 547,000 watches estimated for delivery between April 27 and June 11.
Apple confirmed last week that many Apple Watch pre-orders will arrive sooner than expected, shortly after an executive relations spokesperson said that elongated shipping estimates were set purposefully to avoid disappointment in the event orders were not fulfilled on time. Nevertheless, the company said that some customers still face long lead times, particularly those who did not place an order until several hours after pre-orders became available.
Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon.
Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week.
iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
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Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21.
There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28.
The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. iOS 26.2 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation iPhone SE.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you.
Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by Juli Clover
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products.
Here's what's supposedly coming:
An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1.
Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings.
macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below.
Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Thursday December 11, 2025 4:02 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is working on a smart home hub that will rely heavily on the more capable version of Siri that's coming next year. We've heard quite a bit about the hub over the last two years, but a recent iOS 26 code leak provides additional insight into what we can expect and confirms rumored features.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
Macworld claims to have access to an ...
What pisses me off is I stayed up til 3:00am EST to order a watch and I here I sit with no real updates on processing times. If they couldn't fulfill initial orders they should've pushed back the launch.
While waiting, you guys should buy a good stainless steel polish for scratches. Polished stainless scratches easily. The good thing is the scratches can be massaged out with a good polish. Just be careful around the small ports.
I had to talk someone off the ledge yesterday. He'd never worn watches so didn't understand stainless.
You just need to explain that the Classic ipods were SS, that will make people understand how easily it can scratch :)
What pisses me off the most is I placed my order 3 mins after pre-order started (3am EST) couldn't get in till 3:03am. Placed my order 10 seconds later. And it was already saying 5/12 - 5/27!!!! WTF Apple did you make like ten watches and said "screw it. Lets see how many people order?!?!?!!"
NOW I'm seeing people who ordered HOURS after I did RECEIVING their deliveries OR improved delivery expectations......WTF!!?!?!?!? I'm stuck in Processing hell.
This is my first time pre-ordering something from Apple and this is the worst experience I have ever had to deal with wanting to buy something.
Many customers who pre-ordered the Apple Watch over the past two weeks and received an extended shipping estimate of 4-6 weeks or later should receive the wrist-worn device earlier than expected. Apple continues to update several pre-orders with improved delivery estimates, with some Apple Watch orders initially slated for June delivery now shipping as early as this week.
