Some Apple Watch pre-orders with May and June ship dates now ‘Preparing for Shipment’

apple watch pre-order

Potentially good news today for folks looking at lengthy lead times on their Apple Watch pre-orders. Some customers with 4-6 week and June shipping estimates are reporting that Apple has charged them for their Watch purchases, and their order statuses have changed from ‘Processing Items’ to ‘Preparing for Shipment.’

Given how crazy the Apple Watch launch has been thus far, it’s possible that this doesn’t mean anything—perhaps it’s a system glitch or Apple’s trying out a new processing strategy. But typically, these actions indicate that Apple is about to ship an order, and that has raised hopes that Watches will arrive earlier than expected.

A MacRumors forum thread began blowing up this morning, with users posting credit card charge notifications and shipping status changes. Browsing through the discussion, it looks like most of the folks seeing these things pre-ordered silver aluminum Sport models. I have yet to come across a Space Gray Sport shipping early.

Coincidentally, Apple began notifying select iOS developers yesterday that they were eligible for a one-time purchase of a 42mm Apple Watch Sport (light gray) with guaranteed shipping by April 28. Although it noted supplies were limited, it would seem that the company has more of these on hand than any other model.

The Apple Watch went up for pre-order on April 10, and shipping estimates quickly slipped from the 24 to mid-May and June. There have been reports that these orders may ship earlier than their estimated dates, but Angela Ahrendts reiterated yesterday that inventory is so low, Stores won’t have Watches in-store for several weeks.

Source: MacRumors