Apple Watch Goes On Sale After Retail Store Arrival

The long-awaited Apple Watch finally arrived in Apple stores Friday, amid reports of small crowds.

The wearable device has received mostly positive reviews, and besides being in Apple stores, it is also on sale in a number of high-end specialist shops, as well as online.

Apple Watch

The Apple Watch is available on pre-order at the moment, but it won’t go on sale until 24 April. Potential customers have 15 minutes to try out the device, and there are three different versions (or collections) of Watch, each available in two sizes and two colours, and a variety of bracelet options.

Prices start from £299 but rise to £13,000 for the most premium models.

The Apple Watch Sport, available in silver and space grey, features an aluminium build. The Apple Watch Regular is available in stainless steel finish or space black. And lastly, the Apple Watch Edition is the very high-end option and is crafted from 18-carat gold and only available in limited numbers and from selected retailers.

One of those retailers is London’s famous Selfridges store, which now has a specially-built Apple Watch shop. The decision to sell high-end versions of the device, in high-end retail outlets, could be the influence of former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts, who is now Apple’s head of retail stores.

It was last September that Apple officially confirmed the Watch. The device itself, when paired with an Apple iPhone, is able to make and receive calls, send notifications, and make payments. It has been described by CEO Tim Cook as “the most personal device we’ve ever created”.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Apple’s Watch may be barred from sale in Switzerland due to a patent dating from 1985. The pre-existing patent covers the use of the word “Apple” and the image of an apple in association with watches or jewellery.

Positive Reviews

Meanwhile, some media outlets have reported modest queues (by Apple standards) outside retail stores Friday morning, as users waited to fondle Apple’s first wearable device.

The device is Apple’s first new product category since the iPad and is the first Apple product since the death of Steve Jobs. It is also the first device totally designed by Sir Jony Ive.

And whilst the device has gathered mostly positive reviews, there have been some caveats. Reviewers have mostly praised the Apple Watch as a “beautiful” and “stylish” device. But some have questioned its battery life, screen size, and slow-loading of apps.

Other reviewers have even questioned the need for a watch entirely, by asking how many of people even wear watches nowadays.

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