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Report: Apple Watch Preorders Almost 1 Million On First Day In the US 290

Posted by samzenpus from the i-want-i-stuff dept.
An anonymous reader writes The launch of the Apple Watch has got off to a good start, with an estimated 1 million pre-orders in the U.S. on Friday. "According to Slice's Sunday report, which is based on e-receipt data obtained directly from consumers, 957,000 people preordered the Watch on Friday, with 62% purchasing the cheapest variant, the Apple Watch Sport. On average, each buyer ordered 1.3 watches and spent $503.83 per watch."
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Report: Apple Watch Preorders Almost 1 Million On First Day In the US More

Report: Apple Watch Preorders Almost 1 Million On First Day In the US

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  • Oblig (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 13, 2015 @07:51AM (#49462079)

    Obligatory xkcd [xkcd.com]

  • It wasn't funny the first time (Score:4, Funny)

    by hcs_$reboot ( 1536101 ) on Monday April 13, 2015 @07:54AM (#49462103)
    Guys, the joke is over! 800,000 fake Apple Watch orders wasn't funny the first time!

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday April 13, 2015 @08:05AM (#49462173)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • It still has to be proven to me that the watch does something valuable. I stopped wearing watches over a decade ago.

    • I think they are simply an extension to your smartphone (in this case your iPhone). If you don't use your smartphone that much, then you obviously will not need a smartwatch like Apple's. What's also interesting is that many smartwatches also include bio/health monitors. Something your smartphone can't do on its own.

  • Good (Score:5, Interesting)

    by meta-monkey ( 321000 ) on Monday April 13, 2015 @08:22AM (#49462265) Journal

    I can think of several applications I'd have for a smart watch, but I don't think any of the current offerings meet my needs in terms of build quality or battery life. But if millions of people start wearing apple watches, investments into the technology will be made and in a few years there'll be a cheap, high-quality Android watch for me to buy.

    So, thank you early adopters.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) *

      Care to enumerate some of those applications?

      The only thing I can really think of is heart rate monitoring, and maybe as a pedometer. Beyond that using my phone is no hassle, and I already disabled most of the notifications anyway.

      • I like the idea of not needing to unlock my phone if I'm wearing my watch. For security purposes, this could be easily disabled.

        On the paranoid front, I'd like to develop an app that listens for a code phrase (perhaps "what seems to be the problem, officer?") and takes a series of actions on my phone. These could include:

        1. shredding certain documents
        2. presenting a "false front" view of documents, messages, call logs, etc, to anyone who looks at the phone.
        3. sending alerts to friends/family
        4. turns on cove

      • 1) Sometimes I need a timecode stopwatch, and it's distracting to use the phone in screenings.

        2) I do like the idea of discreet notifications.

        3) I usually wear a Fossil on dates and when I meet clients but, typically for a man's watch, it's very blocky and it doesn't really work under a sport jacket or french cuffs, which I like to wear. Something like an Apple Watch has a cleaner look, but it's still a smartwatch so it projects sophistication. It's really the only piece of jewelry a man can pull off in p

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by slazzy ( 864185 )
      Great point. I can see wanting a smart watch someday, but not until the size and price are both much lower than today and the functionality is about 10x greater. Thanks to early adoptors pumping in money, it won't take long.
    • As long as we're just fantasizing, I can imagine some killer usecases. The problem is the device would need to be extremely waterproof and capable of operating without a phone to be useful. I like sailing and surfing. It would be great to have a concise tide table app, and something to track the starting horns in racing. if i could get a text message from my wife out in the waves, that would be cool. Heck, tides and start timing don't even need connectivity. if the thing was just super waterproof and i felt

  • the superbowl of stupidity (Score:4, Informative)

    by slashmydots ( 2189826 ) on Monday April 13, 2015 @08:48AM (#49462409)
    Smartwatches were the #1 most returned tech item of 2014. Some models were as much as 60% returned! They're absolutely despised by anyone who has used one. I'm one of newegg's product testers and I tested the 2nd generation of Samsung smartwatches. I and everyone gave it a horrible review then I sold it. But this time around, it's Apple fans buying the product. So who will win in this epic battle of Apple false superiority and arrogant smugness versus the strong urge to return their useless, annoying product.

    • Smartwatches were the #1 most returned tech item of 2014. Some models were as much as 60% returned! They're absolutely despised by anyone who has used one. I'm one of newegg's product testers and I tested the 2nd generation of Samsung smartwatches. I and everyone gave it a horrible review then I sold it. But this time around, it's Apple fans buying the product. So who will win in this epic battle of Apple false superiority and arrogant smugness versus the strong urge to return their useless, annoying product.

      Possibly though I'll hand it to Apple that they've had a fairly decent track record in figuring out products that people will actually use.

      Outside of a fancy running watch I'm not sure what a smart watch is good for, then again I wasn't sure what a tablet was good for either.

    • Smartwatches were the #1 most returned tech item of 2014.

      If true all that means is that those particular smartwatches were absolute rubbish. And I don't doubt that many of them were bad. Being first to market isn't necessarily an advantage because everyone else gets to learn from your mistakes. There were smartphones before Apple introduced the iPhone but pretty much every meaningful smartphone afterwards is clearly influenced by the iPhone. Just because other companies produced a junk product doesn't mean Apple's will automatically suck. Apple's got a prett

    • Re:the superbowl of stupidity (Score:4, Interesting)

      by shadowrat ( 1069614 ) on Monday April 13, 2015 @11:48AM (#49464049)
      I played with the watch over the weekend. I was suprised by how lackluster the experience was. Navigating the interface is surprisingly tedious, and I found myself lost on some screens with no clear idea of how to get out of them. The screen looks good, but it's so tiny. I doubt that it's useful. The maps app can show you that you are on a street, but you will spend so much time squinting and fiddling that i'm certain you just wasted all the time you saved not pulling your phone out from your pocket.

      I did think it looked pretty good though. The previous smartwatches i've seen like the early samsungs and the pebbles look like clunky plastic crap. I'd go so far as saying that apple's could be fashionable. That's not entirely a use case without merit. If someone said their reason for blowing $400 on the watch was because they thought it was fashionable, i'd have a lot more respect for them than if they made up stories about how useful it was.
  • Take a look at the Apple Watch listings on eBay, because that's more than you'll ever see on people's wrists for the rest of your life.

  • This is so sad. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by TheRealSync ( 701599 ) on Monday April 13, 2015 @08:53AM (#49462463)

    The comments in this thread, I mean.

    Seriously - we are talking about new technology - a new gadget to play with. We could be talking about the interface, comparing it to other smart watches, discussing possible future apps that would make sense in this context. But no - it's from Apple, so let's all talk about how we don't want a watch.

    Personally I think the success of the watch highly depends on the interface. Other smart watches have been hard to navigate, and I am not entirely sure I believe Apple has cracked the code on the. If they have, this could be a really cool device. If not, I don't think we will see too many generations of it.

    • No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

      • No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

        The iPhone 6 is now offered in 128GB models.

        Be honest, do you know anyone who was forced to buy that model and has come close to challenging the justification by filling it?

        Yeah, me neither.

        Point is just how much space do you need on a device that must pair with another device that already has a lot of storage?

        As for the wireless, it's the same exact situation. People are failing to realize that an iWatch operates on it's own about as well as a Chromecast works without a TV. You don't really need wireless

  • Can I make phone calls with the iWatch? Since I can tell time with my phone, it sounds like a logical use for it.

  • how many be turned back like the Samsung's Gears were.

  • The Plan (Score:2, Funny)

    by PopeRatzo ( 965947 )

    OK, here's my idea:

    There's an accelerometer in the Apple Watch, right? So, I write an app that plays a yodeling sound whenever the watch shakes. Then, when you jerk off, it sounds like this:

    https://youtu.be/vQhqikWnQCU?t... [youtu.be]

    Come on, you know that would be the all-time Apple Watch killer app. I'm a lazy bastard, so I freely give this idea to any of you app devs who want to run with it. Just give me a shout out in the "about" page.

    • When it detects 'small circles' instead of 'reciprocating jerks' it should switch to 'canyon yodeling' sounds.

      Call that version 1.1

  • It's not really a timepiece (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dutch Gun ( 899105 ) on Monday April 13, 2015 @09:05AM (#49462547)

    People keep missing the point of these things. These are not practical devices like an iPhone that just happens to also be sleek and fashionable. These are fashion items first and foremost (a universally acceptable jewelry item for both men and women) that also happen to have some clever tech-related features. No one buys an Apple watch so they can tell the time. They're buying it so they can show off something interesting and fashionable on their wrist.

    • No one buys an Apple watch so they can tell the time. They're buying it so they can show off something interesting and fashionable on their wrist.

      I suspect you are right. I will now google the said device, so that I can be bored from the moment the first hipster shows up to show off, and not only from the second one.

      • No one buys an Apple watch so they can tell the time. They're buying it so they can show off something interesting and fashionable on their wrist.

        Or, so you can access your phone in situations where it really isn't convenient to (such as when running, biking, working on something and your hands are filthy, etc).

    • I find mechanical timepieces to be a higher mark of style. I think digital watches are, or will be, like cars. If Mistubishi made a car that looked like a Ferrari, people would just laugh. It's not the appearance; it's the brand that matters. But a traditional, mechanical watch is closer to jewelry. It can appear stylish without the brand mattering at all; without anyone who sees it even knowing the brand.

      • People laughed at the 3000GT?

        The Ferrari analogy is good. They have treated their customers with scorn sense day 1. Ferrari's business model from the start was 'sell ridiculously overpriced cars to idiots to fund the F1 team'. When that failed they sold themselves to FIAT.

  • say it's better than anything else. And better than they expected.

    Personally, I don't really need one - it doesn't have enough sports-functions and all the rest (notifications, messages) isn't important to me as I don't sync my work-email, work-calendar with my iPhone.
    And my iPhone is too old to be paired with one. But it's an intersting device, nevertheless.

    I don't understand the hate towards people who buy one.
    "I don't have any music, so I don't need an iPod (or the music-playing capabilites of the

  • Why in the world would anyone want more than one Apple Watch? I'm fairly certain people aren't buying them for their significant others. Well, most aren't.

    Given how many people buy other major electronics to resell on ebay and other sites, how many of these 1 million plus pre-orders do you think are just buying the iWatches to create artificial scarcity and resell at a higher price? And who can't wait a month to get a damn smartwatch? Who pays the marked up reseller price?

    Help me understand! I just don't ge

    • ...how many of these 1 million plus pre-orders do you think are just buying the iWatches to create artificial scarcity and resell at a higher price? And who can't wait a month to get a damn smartwatch? Who pays the marked up reseller price?

      Who pays the "marked up" price?

      Uh, just curious, have you bought any product made by Apple in the last decade or two? They pretty much have one price they go by, along with every reseller of their hardware.

      Help me understand! I just don't get it!

      You want to better understand their pricing model? OK, step into any store reselling Apple products and ask them when they go on sale. You might want to sit down before you hear the answer.

  • Apple Watch Preorders Almost 1 Million On First Day In the US

    957,000 people preordered the Watch on Friday

    On average, each buyer ordered 1.3 watches

    So did they actually sell 957,000 x 1.3 = 1, 244,100 watches? Because "more than 1 Million watches" would have been a better headline.

  • A few positive points about Apple's watch .... (Score:5, Informative)

    by King_TJ ( 85913 ) on Monday April 13, 2015 @11:03AM (#49463645) Journal

    I've got to admit that initially, I was *not* excited by the Apple watch announcement at all. Like a lot of people, I was thinking, "Stupid! Most people don't wear watches anymore. The smartphone is what KILLED them for many of us!" I thought the prices were insanely high for the fancier models, and it's little more than a "remote display/control for the phone" anyway.

    I'm also aware of the Android watches that came first, and one of my best friends uses one. It has its good points, but I never felt it was anything I'd use myself.

    But as it turns out, Apple's online ordering for the new watch went live on the day of our anniversary, so my wife offered to get me one as a gift. (Frankly, I wasn't willing to stay awake until 3AM to place an order, but the "hype machine" did at least convince me to browse Apple's site before I went to bed, just to see what configurations they had. I mentioned to my wife that if I was going to get one, I'd probably do the space grey with a black sport band -- as it was the only one I thought looked any good without spending crazy prices for the upscale editions.) Turns out she DID stay up until 3AM and ordered that one for me.

    So now, as I wait my 4-6 weeks for delivery, I've been doing more research to find out exactly what this thing will and won't be able to do for me. And as the long-term reviews come out from people who got to use one for a week or more, it sounds promising. Unlike the initial reports that the Apple Watch would basically "do nothing but tell the time" when it wasn't paired up with your phone in your pocket? I'm finding out that's not quite so. For starters, it apparently has 2GB of storage in it for music. So you can use it as a music player with a pair of bluetooth earbuds without your phone anywhere around. It's also smart enough to pair to your phone via your wi-fi network, as well as via low power bluetooth. So you can walk around your house or office and the watch will be fully functional, even though your phone was left on your desk or nightstand.

    Additionally, reports are coming out that as long as the watch is on a wi-fi network, you can send and receive iMessages on it without the need of a paired phone.

    Then there's the fitness tracker aspect of it. My workplace just started a program where everyone gets a free FitBit and there's a website you can log into to compete with co-workers for who walked the most in a day or a week, etc. etc. It's part of the overall "wellness program". Great, but I really dislike my new FitBit. Because it lacks any GPS functionality, it's too "brain dead" to realize when I'm in a car, on the metro, in a plane, etc. etc. -- so any vibrations that happen get counted as steps taken. It can literally be 50% off on counting your steps! The Apple Watch and iPhone combo makes a far more powerful fitness tracker than FitBit.

    So yeah, the Apple Watch is definitely not a "need", but simply a "want". And many people may not want it at all. That's fine. But I think I'm forced to rethink my original opinion that this was generally going to be a bad idea for Apple. What it may do is re-kindle the interest in wearing a watch around, because it finally gives people some reasons why they should consider doing so, EVEN THOUGH they carry a smartphone already.

    • Your fitbit in the dryer on a cold sensitive cycle will clock you about 700 steps in 15 minutes if your work happens to be incentivising pointless walking exercises.

  • Sport Edition (Score:3)

    by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Monday April 13, 2015 @01:45PM (#49464957)

    I'm buying the cheaper one so I can gold plate it myself to upgrade it to $17K version so I can show it off to people who would then believe me to be a vastly superior human being than them. That can be my legacy. Here lies a dude who owned a $17K watch. He is so F'ing cool.

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