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The Apple Watch will not be available to buy in physical stores until June, a new report claims.
As we previously reported, the fast-approaching April 24 launch date only relates to shipping for online pre-orders. Now, according to The Telegraph, Apple’s brick-and-mortar outlets will hold off stocking the wearable until the height of summer.
The information purportedly comes courtesy of an internal staff memo from Apple’s retail chief Angela Ahrendts.
She reportedly confirmed that Apple’s first wearable won’t be available to buy in physical stores until June, although the specific statement isn’t quoted.
Ahrendts goes on to say that this unique approach is a one-off for Apple, and that the company will return to physical launches with future products.
“Are we going to launch every product this way from now on? No. We all love those blockbuster Apple product launch days – and there will be many more to come,” the note read.
“It’s important to remember that Apple Watch is not just a new product but an entirely new category for us. There’s never been anything quite like it,” the memo continued.
Related: Apple Watch vs Android Wear
Ahrendts added: “To deliver the kind of service our customers have come to expect – and that we expect from ourselves – we designed a completely new approach. That’s why, for the first time, we are previewing a new product in our stores before it has started shipping.”
It’s widely accepted that Apple is holding off on physical Apple Watch retail due to significant shortages in supply.
Early reports have claimed Apple received around 1 million day one Apple Watch pre-orders in the US alone.
Earlier today, we reported on an analyst’s claims that the Apple Watch was being delayed due to limited supply of Taptic Engine vibration motors and OLED displays.
