Zee Media Bureau
New York: Apple Inc will start the sale of its smartwatch from today.
The company has not revealed how many orders it has received in the run-up to the April 24 launch, a contrast to previous launches of iPhones and iPads. And Apple stores will not have any watches to sell on Friday, even though some luxury shops around the world will.
Consumers waiting to grab the the gold edition will have to wait till June for the arrival of the product while they can pre-order it online now.
Apple was unsure whether the watch would create the lines snaking around stores that the company has historically seen with its iPhones, said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray.
Apple itself said that some customers will get watches faster than promised. "Our team is working to fill orders as quickly as possible based on the available supply and the order in which they were received," Apple said in a statement on Wednesday.
Apple has settled for the simplicity of online orders in the face of difficult logistics for watches: there are 38 variations it would need to keep in stock, when accounting for the various sizes, styles and bands, with prices ranging from $349 for the Sport version to $10,000 and more for the gold Edition.
In fact, the only watches on sale on Friday will be at a handful of upscale boutiques and department stores that Apple courted to help position the watch as a fashion item.
With Agency Inputs
