MacRumors

Apple has notified many Apple Watch pre-order customers in the United States and other first wave launch countries to confirm that their orders have shipped, with deliveries starting on April 24 as scheduled. All customers should now have access to a tracking number through UPS or another courier service to track their Apple Watch pre-orders leading into Friday's launch.

With the Apple Store's order status finally updated in tandem with a few early notifications customers have received from services like UPS, Apple Watch pre-order customers with a confirmed shipping status can now track their package through Apple's online store. Though yesterday's UPS notifications sent out to some customers focused mostly on areas in the southern United States, this morning's official update from Apple applies to customers nationwide and in other launch countries.

Today's update comes after a week of slight confusion for most Apple Watch pre-order customers, with credit and debit card charges occurring on Monday and a handful of order status changes soon thereafter, but with most customers still left in the dark for the rest of the week despite placing pre-orders early on April 10. This morning's news should come as a breath of relief for most customers who placed pre-orders as early as possible, and Apple still promises that dispatch dates beyond 4/24 - 5/8 could be coming in earlier than expected, as well.

Apple on Wednesday emailed select customers that pre-ordered the Apple Watch to reassure them that the company is working on their orders and will provide them with specific delivery dates and tracking information when available. Apple appears to have sent the email to customers with Apple Watch pre-orders that have yet to be prepared for shipment ahead of Friday's launch.

Apple Watch pre-order deliveries will begin on April 24 as scheduled, although it remains unknown how many devices will reach customers on day one. Apple confirmed earlier today that many Apple Watch pre-orders with extended shipping estimates will be delivered sooner than expected, but also noted that some customers with extended shipping estimates may still be in for a long wait.

It is unclear if this email is intended to reassure customers that their Apple Watch pre-orders may still be delivered on April 24, or to acknowledge that the shipments will not be finalized in time for Friday but will still be delivered within the original April 24-May 8 estimated window.

Apple has launched a third update to the "Guided Tours" section on its dedicated Apple Watch website, showcasing new walkthrough videos on using Apple Pay and the Workout and Activity apps on the device. Apple first debuted its Guided Tour website on April 3 and has been gradually adding instructional videos to help people discover all of the things that the Apple Watch is able to do.

The Apple Pay video walks through how Apple Pay is used on the Apple Watch at a location that accepts contactless payments. Double clicking the side button and holding a wrist to the payment terminal initiates a payment, which is confirmed with a vibration and a beep. The video also covers how to add a credit card to an iPhone using Passbook.

The Activity video explores the "Activity" app on the Apple Watch, which is the built-in health and fitness app that monitors activity and encourages Apple Watch wearers to move more. It walks through the default fitness goals (exercising, standing more, and meeting calorie burning goals), the steps to set up the app, and the different ways to display the movement goal rings. It also includes a look at the achievements available in the app for reaching fitness goals.

Apple's Workout video covers the device's Workout app that can be run whenever an Apple Watch wearer is exercising. The app has several different activities, like running, climbing, cycling, and more, and lets users set workout goals to achieve right on their wrists. It also includes details on calibrating the Apple Watch to work without the iPhone's GPS.

With the addition of the Apple Pay, Workout, and Activity videos to the Guided Tours page, all of the "Coming Soon" videos are now available to prospective Apple Watch buyers. The completion of the page comes just a few days ahead of the Apple Watch's official launch on April 24. Apple Watch orders have already begun shipping out to customers, and the first early pre-orderers will get their devices on Friday.

Apple doesn't plan to offer the Apple Watch for sale in its retail stores on Friday, having opted to restrict orders to online purchases only, but some retail stores around the world will have Apple Watches in stock for customers to purchase on April 24.

Several high-end fashion boutiques will be offering the watch for sale beginning Friday, according to a new report from The New York Times. Stores with stock will include Dover Street Market in Tokyo and London, Maxfield in Los Angeles, Colette in Paris, the Corner in Berlin, and 10 Corso Como in Milan.

All of these stores were previously unveiled as retail locations that would carry the Apple Watch, but it was not known that the stores would have stock for customers to purchase on launch day, given the Apple Watch supply constraints that Apple has highlighted. In a press release sent out on April 9, Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts said "strong customer demand" would exceed supply at launch.

Many of the stores have the Apple Watch displayed prominently on their websites, along with wording that says the device will be available in store as of Friday. As noted by The New York Times, all of the places that will have the Apple Watch in stock on Friday are high-end fashion-oriented boutiques known as "retail trendsetters."

It's not known exactly how much stock each of the stores will be given or of what type, but Dover Street Market did share some detail on its numbers. The store in Ginza, Tokyo will have 350 watches to sell, while the store in London will have 570. Neither store will offer the Apple Watch Edition, as it is backordered.

Apple initially declined to comment on its partner stores offering in-store Apple Watch stock while its own retail stores will not, but later reiterated its earlier comment on getting online orders out to customers earlier than expected. The first Apple Watch shipments will be arriving on the doorsteps of customers beginning on April 24, and as of today, many Apple Watch orders that had shipping estimates ranging into several weeks have seen their shipments advance into the "Preparing for Shipment" stage.

Earlier today, a number of Apple Watch pre-orders with delivery estimates of 4-6 weeks or later started changing from "Processing Items" to "Preparing for Shipment" on the Apple Online Store. Apple also began charging some credit and debit cards of customers with orders showing extended shipping times.

Apple has since confirmed to John Paczkowski at BuzzFeed that many customers will receive their Apple Watch pre-orders sooner than expected. The company says it is working hard to fulfill orders as quickly as possible based on the order in which they were received, and does note that some customers are still in for a long wait.

“We’re happy to be updating many customers today with the news that their Apple Watch will arrive sooner than expected,” an Apple spokeswoman told BuzzFeed News. “Our team is working to fill orders as quickly as possible based on the available supply and the order in which they were received. We know many customers are still facing long lead times and we appreciate their patience.”

Apple Watch pre-order deliveries will begin on April 24 as scheduled, although exactly how many customers will receive theirs on day one remains to be seen. Ahead of the launch, customers in the United States have started receiving UPS shipment notifications confirming their upcoming Apple Watch delivery. Pre-orders became available on April 10 at 12:01 AM Pacific and sold out in less than six hours, with a combination of strong demand and limited supply quickly pushing back shipping estimates.

MacRumors reported earlier this month that Apple Watch pre-orders could arrive sooner than expected, based on an email exchange with an executive relations spokesperson that said extended shipping times were set deliberately to avoid disappointment.

Apple is planning to offer customers an opportunity to exchange only their Apple Watch bands rather than an entire Apple Watch if a band is the wrong size or the wrong style. Retail employees have been instructed to suggest a band swap as an alternative to a whole watch return if an Apple Watch is being returned based on size, color, or band style.

A band swap, according to an internal employee training document, can potentially save the customer time as it eliminates the need to set up and sync an entirely new watch. Band swaps are available for the Apple Watch Sport and the stainless steel Apple Watch, but will not be available for the more expensive gold Apple Watch Edition.

There are several rules for band swaps:

- The new band must be within the same collection as the watch and must be an available band option for that watch face.

- The band swap is within 14 day return period.

- The watch must have been purchased at the Apple Online Store, Kiosk, or Apple Store App.

- You are not using band swaps as a way to configure a sellable product for a customer.

Band swaps won't be done entirely in store. After an employee confirms that a customer is within their 14-day return window and wants a new band, the swap must be initiated through the Online Store call center. Customer support representatives will create a new band order, ship it out to the customer, and provide instructions on how to mail in an old band for a refund.

One interesting tidbit in the document suggests band swaps can't be done for watches purchased at other retailers for warranty reasons, such as those bought from select boutiques around the world where the Apple Watch will be sold, including Colette in Paris, Dover Street Market in London, The Corner in Berlin, and more.

If a customer wants to make a full watch return rather than just a band return, the band must be provided. Apple will not provide partial refunds -- bands that shipped with a watch cannot be returned for a refund and Apple Watches cannot be returned without their bands.

The document also outlines the full return guidelines for the Apple Watch Sport, the Apple Watch, and the gold Apple Watch Edition, with the latter requiring a "visual, mechanical, and micro-inspection" by a trained genius accompanied by a manager.

The Apple Watch is set to launch this Friday, with the first customers receiving their pre-orders at that time. Supplies are constrained, but Apple has been making efforts to get shipments out as fast as possible. Many Apple Watch bands are also in short supply with multi-week shipping estimates, so customers who do wish to exchange a band might have to wait awhile for their desired band to be available.

Google today announced its entrance into the wireless service business, with the debut of Project Fi, a service that combines multiple cellular networks with Wi-Fi hotspots to offer "the best network wherever you go."

As rumored back in January, Google is teaming up with both Sprint and T-Mobile for Project Fi, and the two carriers will provide the cellular service for Google's initiative. With Project Fi service, customers will be able to connect to the fastest network at any given location, whether it's Sprint LTE, T-Mobile LTE, or a Wi-Fi hotspot.

We developed new technology that gives you better coverage by intelligently connecting you to the fastest available network at your location whether it's Wi-Fi or one of our two partner LTE networks. As you go about your day, Project Fi automatically connects you to more than a million free, open Wi-Fi hotspots we've verified as fast and reliable. Once you're connected, we help secure your data through encryption. When you're not on Wi-Fi, we move you between whichever of our partner networks is delivering the fastest speed, so you get 4G LTE in more places.

By positioning itself as an MVNO or mobile virtual network operator partnered with existing carriers, Google is able to provide reliable cellular service and its own pricing tiers without needing to build out its own infrastructure. Other well-known MVNO's in the U.S. include Boost Mobile, FreedomPop, and Straight Talk.

Project Fi brings phone numbers to the cloud, letting users talk and text with their personal phone numbers on any phone, tablet, or computer, and it introduces a simplified pricing structure that's easier to understand than most carriers' complicated plans.

There's a single plan that costs $20 per month for talk, text, and Wi-Fi tethering, plus an extra $10 per GB for cellular data in the U.S. and abroad. So a plan with unlimited talk and text with 3GB of data would be priced at $50. Google's also only charging for data used, so customers who pay for 3GB and only use 1GB will get a refund.

Google is debuting a Project Fi early access program that's available to customers who have a Nexus 6. According to Google, this is the first smartphone that supports the hardware and software necessary to work with Project Fi. Nexus 6 users can in areas where coverage is available can request access.

Google is the first major technology company to introduce its own wireless service, and it's possible that other companies could follow in its footsteps. In the past, there were rumors suggesting Apple would take on the role of a mobile carrier, selling service directly to consumers, but in 2012, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that Apple did not need to be a carrier and would be better off focusing its efforts on making great devices.

Today is Earth Day and in celebration of the occasion, Apple has updated the logos of some of its retail stores with green leaf accents, as it does each year on April 22. The green leaves mark a departure from the standard white logo, and Earth Day represents one of the few occasions each year where Apple tweaks its store logos.

Along with installing green-leafed Apple logos at retail stores Apple may also be planning to hold a special Earth Day celebratory event at its Cupertino campus, as it did last year.

In a tweet about Earth Day, Tim Cook linked to Apple's environmental website and highlighted the company's efforts to "leave the world better than we found it." Apple updated the website two days ago with its most recent Environmental Responsibility Report, noting that 100 percent of its U.S operations and 87 percent of its global operations are now run on renewable energy.

Under Tim Cook's watch, Apple has ramped up its environmental conservancy efforts, heavily pursuing improved recycling, renewable energy through solar farms, a reduced carbon footprint, and most recently partnering with The Conservation Fund to protect and create the forests that supply its packaging materials.

With less than two days until the Apple Watch launches in the United States and eight other countries, customers who pre-ordered the Apple Watch and received shipping estimates of 4-6 weeks or later are beginning to see earlier than expected movement on their orders placed through the Apple Online Store.

A growing number of people have turned to the MacRumors discussion forums and tipped us individually about their Apple Watch pre-orders with 4-6 weeks or June delivery estimates changing from "Processing Items" to "Preparing for Shipment" on Apple's order tracking page for various aluminum and stainless steel models.

A portion of those that pre-ordered have also seen credit or debit card charges from Apple appear on their statements, although it is likely that the majority of those charges are Apple preauthorizations to ensure a customer's bank account is in good standing. Apple's payment and pricing information on its website provides further details about the steps that are taken.

"When you place an order, Apple will contact your credit or debit card's issuing bank to confirm it is a valid account. Apple requests an authorization, which holds the funds for the full or partial purchase amount. As Apple prepares your items, authorized funds will be unavailable and may display as "pending" on your credit or debit card's online statement.

If you are shipping an item, your card will only be charged after the item has shipped. For pickup items, you will be billed before your item is ready for pick up. If your order contains multiple items, you may see multiple charges on your credit or debit card statement."

It remains unknown how many customers will receive their Apple Watch pre-orders on April 24, the day the wrist-worn device officially launches in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and United Kingdom. Any movement on pre-orders, however, such as order status changes and credit and debit card charges, is a good sign for those patiently anticipating the arrival of their Apple Watch.

MacRumors reported earlier this month that Apple Watch pre-orders could arrive sooner than expected based on an email exchange with Apple's executive relations that said extended shipping estimates are set purposefully to avoid disappointment through false guarantees. At the same time, the exact number of Apple Watch pre-orders fulfilled on day one remains to be seen.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo issued a note to investors on Wednesday, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors, reiterating that Apple is unlikely to launch a new 4-inch iPhone this year. Kuo, who has a respectable track record at reporting on Apple's upcoming product plans, added that Apple will instead likely release a new 4-inch iPhone with Apple Pay compatibility in 2016.

"iPhone 5S still going strong; next 4-inch likely in 2016. Shipments of 5S are still going strong at 5-7mn units every quarter, an impressive level at such a mature stage of the product cycle. Momentum is being sustained by a more affordable price and the product’s outstanding design. But we still believe it’s necessary for Apple to have a new 4-inch iPhone because: (1) it will be key to extending momentum in the 4-inch category; and (2) it could complete the Apple Pay ecosystem, assuming it is equipped with NFC. We predict a launch in 2016."

The well-informed analyst claims that the iPhone 5c will likely reach the end of its product cycle later this year, with the iPhone 5s becoming the new entry-level device in Apple's smartphone lineup once the so-called "iPhone 6s" and "iPhone 6s Plus" are released this September. For now, the oft-rumored "iPhone 6c," speculated to be an iPhone 5s with plastic casing, is not planned.

Kuo first expressed doubt that Apple will release a new 4-inch iPhone this year in a note to investors obtained by MacRumors earlier this month, in which he claimed that Apple is still targeting 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models for its next-generation iPhones. Sketchy rumors and leaked images of the purported "iPhone 6c" began picking up in March, but few specific details about the rumored smartphone have surfaced.

Foxconn is expected to be the primary manufacturer of the 4-inch iPhone in 2016.

A new tool created by developer Steven Troughton-Smith that allows you to search for Apple Watch app screenshots based on iTunes links has provided an early glimpse at several popular apps for the wrist-worn device. Some developers have already shared screenshots, and other websites have shared additional ones, but this tool provides the closest look yet at third-party apps for Apple Watch ahead of its April 24 launch.

Clear

Flipboard

RunKeeper

Shazam

Twitter

Yahoo Weather

Apple Watch app screenshots are required to be submitted by developers and should begin appearing on the App Store when the wrist-worn device launches on April 24, or soon after, alongside traditional iPhone and iPad screenshots. In the meantime, this tool provides an easy way to search for your favorite Apple Watch apps for a sneak preview of what they look like ahead of time.

Following a week of constant order status changes and general haziness on when customers would actually receive their Apple Watch orders, a few MacRumors users have confirmed this morning that they have received April 24 delivery estimates for their Apple Watch pre-orders.

In the forums, multiple mentions of an Apple distribution center in Mount Juliet, Tennessee have resulted in numerous users getting confirmed delivery dates for their Apple Watch orders this Friday, April 24. While mostly centered in the southern states like Tennessee, Arkansas, and Florida, a few outliers, like a few customers in Indiana, have also had the April delivery date confirmed.

The news comes after a few Apple Watch pre-order customers began receiving UPS tracking numbers yesterday, thanks to the service's "My Choice" opt-in emails, which notify customers whenever a package is on its way to their house. On Monday, many people began being charged for their Apple Watch orders, seeing a shift from "Processing Items" to "Preparing for Shipment" for a majority of users.

Many of the early UPS shipping notifications had delivery estimates for earlier in the week, but these were understood to be inaccurate considering Apple's efforts to have all deliveries held until the official launch day. Apple's own order status pages are also still showing a broad "4/24-5/8" window for the first wave of orders, so tracking information pinpointing delivery for Friday will be a welcome reassurance for many customers.

With the Apple Watch launch stressing some of the company's customers out, yesterday Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts was seen in a video updating Apple retail employees on the different approach for the Watch's launch, promising a "unique situation" and that the company's "blockbuster launches", or in-store launches, will continue in the future. With only two days to go until the official launch of the Apple Watch, many users should begin seeing status and date changes popping up on their accounts over the next few hours.

Apple will begin accepting pre-orders for the Apple Watch in Italy on May 8, according to Italian website iSpazio. The report, citing an internal source, claims that Apple Stores in the country have already received Apple Watch advertising materials and display tables for the wrist-worn device that will be setup on May 7 to prepare for the launch.

While not mentioned directly in the report, iSpazio administrator Fabiano Confuorto told MacRumors that Apple Watch pre-orders in Spain and "a lot of other" second wave launch countries will also begin on May 8. Confuorto did not specify which other countries, but we will update this article if additional regions are confirmed.

The sales process will reportedly be identical to the United States and other first wave countries, with Apple Watch pre-orders taken exclusively online at launch for delivery to home and, after the pre-order window ends, in-store pickup. Presumably, try-on appointments should also be available on May 8 in the second wave launch countries.

Second wave launch countries for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus last year included Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. Shipping times for the pre-orders could be 4-6 weeks or later in those countries based on current estimates on the Apple Online Store in the United States.

Apple Watch pre-orders became available on April 10 at 12:01 AM Pacific through the Apple Online Store in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and United Kingdom, and sold out completely in less than six hours. The company also began taking Apple Watch try-on appointments the same day at Apple retail stores and select fashion boutiques such as Selfridges in London, Isetan in Tokyo and Galeries Lafayette in Paris.

Update: According to 9to5Mac, Apple currently has no plans to start taking second-wave pre-orders on May 8.