Target Says Apple Watch Series 2 Orders Will be Delayed, Offers $50 Gift Card to Affected Customers - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Target Says Apple Watch Series 2 Orders Will be Delayed, Offers $50 Gift Card to Affected Customers

target_logoFollowing in the footsteps of Best Buy, Target has emailed customers that pre-ordered the Apple Watch Series 2 today to inform them that orders may not be delivered by the original date promised upon checkout.

Target said it is experiencing delays in receiving Apple Watch Series 2 models from Apple, adding that it will expedite all orders as inventory becomes available to get customers their new Apple Watches as soon as possible.

No updated date was provided for when orders will begin. Target will be emailing a complimentary $50 gift card to affected customers in the next 24 hours to help assuage any inconvenience or frustration the delay may have caused.

Apple Watch Series 2 launched today in the U.S. and select other countries, including pre-order deliveries and limited in-store availability at Apple and authorized resellers. The second-generation models feature improved water resistance up to 50 meters, a built-in GPS, a two-times brighter display, and a faster dual-core S2 chip.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Tag: Target
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)

Popular Stories

apple yoga day activity challenge

Apple Watch Activity Challenge for International Day of Yoga Coming June 21

Tuesday June 16, 2026 11:55 am PDT by
Apple is celebrating International Day of Yoga with an Activity Challenge that takes place on Sunday, June 21. To earn the in-app award, Apple Watch owners must record a yoga workout of 10 minutes or more. Any yoga workout will fulfill the requirement, as long as you select the yoga workout type from the Workout app on the Apple Watch or use an app that adds yoga workouts to the Health app. ...
watchOS 27 Hands On Thumb

Hands-On With watchOS 27: Every New Apple Watch Feature

Thursday June 18, 2026 12:35 pm PDT by
watchOS 27 is the new version of watchOS that's coming to the Apple Watch this fall. It's a little light on features, but there are some useful new additions, including access to Siri AI. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. watchOS 27 will have Siri AI, so you'll be able to use many of the same Siri features that you have on the iPhone on your wrist. Right now, the...
watchos 27

No watchOS 27? No Problem. Your Apple Watch Still Works With iOS 27

Friday June 19, 2026 6:36 am PDT by
Apple's decision to drop watchOS 27 support for five Apple Watch models – the Series 6, 7, 8, SE 2, and the original Ultra – likely caused some hand-wringing at this year's WWDC. The software's compatibility list cuts off three years of devices in one update. Fortunately, Apple today confirmed that unsupported watches will still work with iOS 27 when it's released in the fall. Speaking to Tec...

Top Rated Comments

128 months ago
this September's product launch is looking to be well planned and nicely executed.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
128 months ago
I'm confused by both Target's and Best Buy's announcements... does Apple not tell them in advance how many units they'll be receiving and on what days?

If Apple said they'd deliver some quantity and then they don't, it seems like Target and Best Buy should each be pointing their fingers at Apple, and then not giving gift cards to consumers - any customer backlash would be Apple's and Apple's alone to recover from.

The fact they're giving giftcards seems to be them admitting guilt... what are they guilty of? Did they know they'd have no stock?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chupa Chupa Avatar
128 months ago
Multiple products launch. Higher demand due to Samsung Note recall.
Yeah, that's it. All the hundreds of millions of Note 7 owners that bought their phone because they wanted a stylus decided to buy an iPhone instead since there were no other Android stylus phones around.

Then they decided to buy a Series 1 AW and a Series 2 as well.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonnysods Avatar
128 months ago
Does Apple have anything to sell? No wonder they didn't want to play the numbers game last weekend.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kilcher Avatar
128 months ago
Following in the footsteps of Best Buy ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/09/14/best-buy-apple-watch-series-2-delay/'), Target has emailed customers that pre-ordered the Apple Watch Series 2 today to inform them that orders may not be delivered by the original date promised upon checkout.
Not JUST the date promised during checkout - when I went to bed last night at 10pm my account STILL said the watch would be delivered today. They obviously knew at 10pm last night that my order hadn't shipped. That's what ticks me off more than anything.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
128 months ago
The entire world economy is suddenly shifting, entirely due to all the gift cards given to impatient iPhone buyers.

(P.S. I hope Apple doesn't prioritize shipments to MY Target: they don't know a THING about Apple products. They don't even know what they carry, or what shelf 6 feet away from them it's on. Hint: way down by foot level. My Target hates selling Apple products and avoids it when they can.)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)