“Consumers flocked to Apple Inc’s stores around the world on Friday to get the first close-up look at the tech giant’s smartwatch, which the company expects will be its next runaway hit,” Astrid Wendlandt and Pauline Askin report for Reuters.
“Before the Paris Apple store opened at 0900 local time, about 100 people were queuing outside. Staff cheered and applauded the first customers, most of them men aged under 30,” Wendlandt and Askin report. “Within the first hour in Paris, many customers had pre-ordered their watch, and several went for the entry-level model with a black plastic [sic: custom high-performance fluoroelastomer] bracelet. High demand means some shoppers in Paris will have to wait 4-6 weeks before their watch arrives.”
“Based on recent customer interest at its stores, Apple expects demand for the watch, which allows users to check email, listen to music and make phone calls when paired with an iPhone, to exceed availability at launch,” Wendlandt and Askin report. “Apple’s watch is widely expected to outsell those by Samsung, Sony Corp and Fitbit.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As opposed to Bloomberg which is actually disingenuously attempting to claim “Muted Debut for Apple Watch With Sparse Crowds” while reporting in the article that Apple is following a “plan to end the long lines outside Apple stores.”
Bloomberg is practicing yellow journalism by way of misleading headline.
Related articles:
Apple Watch already sold out – April 10, 2015
Open thread: Did you get your Apple Watch preorder placed? – April 10, 2015