The Apple Watch begins to arrive at retail stores
The Apple Watch is taking a big step toward being available at the company’s retail stores. According to a new report from BGR, some Apple Stores in the United States have begun to receive shipments of the watch to sell for Personal Pickup when a buyer places an order online.
The site says some stores could be seeing buyers pick up their watch as early as tomorrow, Wednesday, June 17.
A quick look at Apple’s online store is showing that the Personal Pickup option is still unavailable. But that should soon change.
More than likely, the in-store stock will include all of the Apple Watch Sport models and a number of the stainless steel Apple Watch versions.
Earlier this month, Apple announced that buyers could purchase a watch directly from retail stores starting on Friday, June 26. On that date, the watch’s availability will also expand to a number of new countries – Italy, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and Taiwan.
A separate report from 9to5Mac said customers who pick up their watch at an Apple Store will also receive a nice bonus in the form of a special Apple Watch bag. They are made with heavy paper and rope handles that correspond with the band color of the Sport model that is purchased.
Prices range from $349 for the 38mm Sport model to $17,000 for the most expensive 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition.
A mid-range Apple Watch collection, with a sapphire crystal and stainless steel exterior, ranges from $549 to $1,099. Apple also offers a number of other additional bands for the watch.
You’ll need an iPhone 5 or later to interact with the device.
The first online watch orders began to arrive in late April.
For other recent news today, see: Apple is fixing the iPad’s Notification Center in iOS 9, Adobe Stock simplifies licensing and working with images, and Can you ditch iTunes Match thanks to Apple Music?