Apple today issued a press release officially confirming the preview and online pre-ordering of the Apple Watch for 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time, tomorrow, April 10, and availability for April 24.
The Apple Watch will be available for customers to try on at Apple Stores and other select retailers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. In the release, Apple SVP of Retail and Online Stores, Angela Ahrendts, confirms earlier reports that the new device will be available solely online for the initial launch.
Based on the tremendous interest from people visiting our stores, as well as the number of customers who have gone to the Apple Online Store to mark their favorite Apple Watch ahead of availability, we expect that strong customer demand will exceed our supply at launch. To provide the best experience and selection to as many customers as we can, we will be taking orders for Apple Watch exclusively online during the initial launch period.
Customers will still be able to visit Apple Stores to try on the Apple Watch and explore its features, although even in this case, they are encouraged to make appointments online rather than simply walking into the store.