10 Things to Know About the Apple Watch Release

The Apple Watch release date arrives later this month, but you don’t need to wait very long to place an order for the Apple Watch you want to buy. Apple Watch pre-orders start in just over a week and there are many Apple Watch accessories and Apple Watch bands that are tempting for users on Amazon and at other retailers.

With the opportunity to spend a lot of money even before the Apple Watch release date arrives we want to share the most important things that we thing Apple Watch buyers need to know before the release date later this month.

Read: Which Apple Watch Size Should I Buy?

In early March Apple shared more information about the Apple Watch, but there are a lot of details that still need official confirmation. Even without every small piece of information from Apple, we do know a lot about how the Apple Watch release works and what to expect from the Apple Watch pre-orders.

While the Apple Watch release date and the Apple Watch pre-orders are confirmed Apple holds many of the specifics under wraps for a short while longer.

With this in mind, we want to take a look at the most important things that buyers need to know about the Apple Watch release date and pre-orders. This includes some small details and tips that buyers need to keep in mind.

Apple Watch Pre-Order Date

The Apple Watch pre-orders start on April 10th. Apple confirmed this date at the Apple Watch event in early March and lists the date on the Apple website.

On this date you can pre-order the Apple Watch online or in-stores. Buyers can go in to an Apple Store on April 10th or soon after to try on the Apple Watch and Apple Watch Sport in various sizes and with various band options. The Apple Watch Edition is only available at select stores.

Read: 4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Buy the Apple Watch

We don’t know if Apple Stores will open early on April 10th, but it is a possibility. If you are a business user, you cannot get a discount, but there are special events in April to try the Apple Watch and you can also coordinate with the business team to place the pre-order for you.

Apple Watch Pre-Order Start Time

We asked Apple when Apple Watch pre-orders start, but the company did not provide a comment about the exact timing. We expect that the Apple Watch pre-order time will mimic other Apple pre-orders.

Apple traditionally offers new products for pre-order at 12:01 AM Pacific, or 3:01 AM Eastern. We expect that this will stay the same for the online Apple Watch pre-orders. In store you can expect orders to start as soon as the doors open.

We’ll report as soon as Apple confirms the Apple Watch pre-order start time.

Apple Watch Release Date

The Apple Watch release date is April 24th. This is the same date in the U.S. and in eight other countries on this same date. In about three weeks you can buy the Apple Watch in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US.

On this day the Apple Watch will be available online or in store, but you will need a reservation if you want to buy at the Apple Store.

Where to Buy the Apple Watch

There are only a few places to buy the Apple Watch. If you want to buy the Apple Watch on release day your options are to go online or to an Apple retail store.

In China and Japan buyers can also go to Apple Authorized Resellers. In large cities there will also be some options to buy the Apple Watch at specialty retailers including, “Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Isetan in Tokyo and Selfridges in London,” and “boutiques in major cities across the world including colette in Paris, Dover Street Market in London and Tokyo, Maxfield in Los Angeles and The Corner in Berlin,” according to Apple.

You’ll Want an Apple Watch Appointment

On April 10th when you go to try on the Apple Watch in person you will want an appointment. The same goes for the Apple Watch release date.

Reports show that you will be able to make an appointment to try on the Apple Watch and to pre-order starting on April 10th from the Apple Store app on your iPhone. For a try-on, you can walk in and wait for an opening, but expect a different story on the release date.

Additional reports outline Apple’s plans to sell the Apple Watch to those with a pre-order or reservation only on the Apple Watch release date. In the Apple announcement the company states, “On April 24, Apple Watch will be available online or by reservation,” but doesn’t go into more details about when you can walk in and buy the Apple Watch without a reservation.

You Should Pre-Order the Apple Watch

If you know that you want to buy the Apple Watch, even without reviews or the answer to every question you should pre-order if you want to get one on the Apple Watch release date.

Even though this is a new device we expect Apple Watch pre-orders will sell out for release date pickup or delivery within 12-24 hours of the start.

Keep in mind that you can cancel the Apple Watch pre-order without any penalty. If you think you know which one you want, you can place an order and then go try the Apple Watch on later to make sure it is the one you want.

How Apple Watch Pre-Orders Will Work

If you plan to pre-order the Apple Watch you should read our look at the Apple Watch pre-order process. It is especially important to know where you should pre-order if you want to pick it up on release day.

You can place an Apple Watch pre-order online or in-store, but if you order online you will need to wait for it to show up on your doorstep according to 9to5Mac. If you pre-order in store you can choose to pick it up in that store on the release date.

Apple Watch for Lefties

There is no Apple Watch for left hand users, but there are several things that lefties need to know about using the Apple Watch.

Apple includes a Right Wrist mode on the Apple Watch that left hand users can turn on when they wear it on their right hand. You switch the Apple Watch bands so that the clasp attaches normally. Some users report that it could be odd to use, and it is worth noting that the Digital Crown will be at the lower edge.

Apple Watch Accessories

There are a lot of Apple Watch accessories available to pre-order at this time, but it’s worth waiting until you get the Apple Watch in hand. Most users will not need or want to put an Apple Watch skin or Apple watch screen protector on. There are many Apple Watch docks to make charging the watch easier or nicer to look at, but most won’t ship until after the release date.

We are already seeing some third-party Apple Watch bands on Amazon that are tempting because they are much cheaper than at Apple, but it’s wise to wait for the reviews and for other options, especially when the company uses the same images from Apple’s website.

Apple Watch Apps

Apple is prepping the Apple Watch apps for the Apple Watch release date. This week Apple called for developers to submit Apple Watch apps and we recently saw some iPhone apps prepare for their end of the connectivity so things are clearly falling into place.

Check out the slides below to see 20 exciting Apple Watch apps that we’ll try as soon as the release arrives.

Fandango

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Apple Watch users will be able to pull up their movie tickets right on the device with the new Fandango app and will even give you a reminder so that you're not late for the movie. The ticket-buying process will still require a computer by going to the Fandango website, but you can pull up the purchased tickets on your Apple Watch and scan them at the counter at the movie theater.

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