Best Buy Accelerating Apple Watch Rollout to All 1,050 Stores Amid Strong Demand
Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly today announced that the company plans to accelerate support for the Apple Watch by having the wearable device be sold in every one of its 1,050 retail locations across the United States "by the end of September" (via Fortune).
The move follows Best Buy's initial plan to deploy retail support for the Apple Watch in just 300 of its stores by the holiday season, but recent strong sales of the device have encouraged the retailer to back Apple in not just Apple Watch support, but with all of the Cupertino company's products.
Currently undergoing renovations at 740 locations in the United States are the Apple branded sections of Best Buy's retail stores, "including new fixtures and more display tables for phones, computers, and tablets." The company has already completed the update at 350 of its stores and has plans to get another 170 completed before the holiday shopping rush coming later this year.
We've also been working with Apple to update the 740 stores-within-a-store that were first implemented in 2007. The stores-within-a-store will have new Apple fixtures and are larger with more display tables for phones, computers, and tablets. We've already implemented approximately 350 of them, and expect to upgrade a total of approximately 520 by the holidays.
The additional display tables are great for the merchandising of Apple Watch, which went on sale at BestBuy.com and in more than 100 of our stores in August. Now, because demand for Apple Watch has been so strong in these stores and online, we are excited to share that beginning September 4 we will be carrying Apple Watch in more than 900 of our big-box stores. Apple Watch will be available in all 1050 of our big-box stores and approximately 30 of our Best Buy Mobile stores by the end of September.
Best Buy began selling the Apple Watch in-store and online in early August, along with a few third-party accessories for the wearable, like charging docks and various bands. The retailer will even begin selling AppleCare and AppleCare+ warranty plans in mid-September, no doubt hitting just in time for the launch of the next generation iPhones. Apple has avoided attaching specific sales figures to the Apple Watch, but Best Buy's doubling down on the company's wearable device is no doubt a sign of the Apple Watch's success.
Popular Stories
The European Parliament today voted overwhelmingly in favor of enforcing USB-C as a common charging port across a wide range of consumer electronic devices, including the iPhone and AirPods, by the end of 2024.
The proposal, known as a directive, forces all consumer electronics manufacturers who sell their products in Europe to ensure that a wide range of devices feature a USB-C port. This...
Rumors suggest that Apple still has several new devices that are coming before the end of the year, including a range of Macs and iPads. It's not looking like we're going to get an October event in 2022, but refreshes are coming soon, probably via press release. If you're planning to buy a Mac or an iPad, make sure to check out our list to know what's safe to pick up now and what's not.
iPad ...
iOS 16 was released to the public three weeks ago with a customizable Lock Screen, the ability to edit iMessages, improvements to Focus modes, and much more. And in the coming months, iPhone and iPad users have even more new features to look forward to.
We've rounded up 10 new features coming to the iPhone and iPad later this year, according to Apple. Many of the features are part of iOS...
Apple today released updated firmware for the MagSafe Charger that is designed to work with the iPhone 12 and later and the AirPods Pro 2. The new firmware is version 10M1821, up from the prior 10M229 firmware. Note that in the Settings app, you'll see a different version number than the firmware number, with the update displayed as version 255.0.0.0 (the prior firmware was 247.0.0.0). The...
Apple on September 23 officially launched the second-generation version of the AirPods Pro, introducing updated Active Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Transparency, improved sound, and more. Right around the same time, Bose introduced new QuietComfort II earbuds with many similar features, so we thought we'd compare the two to see which has the edge.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for ...
One of iOS 16's most praised features comes at the cost of draining battery life, according to recently published Apple support documents.
The feature, known as "keyboard haptics," is optional in iOS 16 and allows users to get physical feedback via slight vibrations upon the touch of each key, confirming that it was pressed much like keyboard sounds. The feature is a useful addition to the...
Apple is no longer expected to host an event this month, despite plans to unveil a host of new devices including new iPad and Mac models, according to recent reports.
In recent months, Apple has been expected to hold an event in October to announce a range of products that did not receive any stage time during the company's iPhone 14 unveiling event last month. In a recent newsletter, Bloombe...
iOS 16.0.2 was released last month with several bug fixes for iPhone 14 issues, excessive copy and paste permission prompts, and more. Now, evidence suggests that Apple is planning to release iOS 16.0.3 with additional bug fixes.
Evidence of an upcoming iOS 16.0.3 software update has shown up in MacRumors analytics logs, which have been a reliable indicator in the past.
There are several...
Apple today seeded the fourth beta of iOS 16.1 to developers for testing purposes, with the beta coming one week after the release of the third iOS 16.1 beta. The iOS 16.1 beta is also joined by the fifth beta of iPadOS 16.1, which is on a slightly different schedule as Apple started testing it prior to the launch of iOS 16.
Registered developers can download the iOS 16 and iPadOS 16...
With the latest iOS 16.1 beta, Apple has tweaked the design of the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max to make it more visible on a dark background. When using a darker wallpaper or with the darker interface of Dark Mode activated, there is a light gray border around the outside of the Dynamic Island when the screen is dimmed or when the Dynamic Island is in active use.
The...
Top Rated Comments
MR is giving you combined ammunition to hate.
In all seriousness, this follows the usual new Apple product pattern. There's an initial rush, followed by a huge decline while the masses have their eyes on the early adopters to see how they like it. Once people start seeing it more in public and see how people use it and love it, they become more inclined to buy one. Now we have a snowball effect going on.
Or maybe they actually really like it and wear it every single day for as long as they're awake? Nahh, couldn't be, because YOU'VE never seen one in the wild. :rolleyes:
Everyone else checks out the watch online, at Best Buy, at Apple Stores, and buys them.
Best Buy has access to actual sales data, or they wouldn't be buying in.
Haters have access to an online forum. That's all.