Apple says its Watch will be available in Italy, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan from 26 June from the Apple online store and select Apple authorised resellers.
However, the device maker has yet to set a date for when the gadget will be available locally. Several local sites, such as Takealot.com, ShopandShip.co.za, WantItAll.co.za and CaCell.co.za, are offering the watches before they are officially available in SA. However, these are grey imports; genuine products that are imported by someone other than the manufacturer or authorised distributor.
As a result, warns Rutger-Jan van Spaandonk, executive director for the Core Group, SA's official Apple distributor, the desire to be first is risky business because of the warranty issue. "It is absolutely not in the interest of the consumer to buy grey imports."
Van Spaandonk has explained, if the grey device needs to be fixed, it will have to be sent back to the original buyer overseas for repairs or complaints, as local Apple stores will not be able to help. "Warranty goes to the first end-user customer unless they are an official channel partner and have the right to transfer."
The Apple Watch has met with a large amount of demand globally. Jeff Williams, Apple's senior VP of operations, says the "response to Apple Watch has surpassed our expectations in every way, and we are thrilled to bring it to more customers around the world".
Williams adds the company is "also making great progress with the backlog of Apple Watch orders, and we thank our customers for their patience".
All orders placed during May, with the sole exception of Apple Watch 42mm space black stainless steel with space black link bracelet, will ship to customers within two weeks. At that time, Apple will also begin selling some models in its Apple retail stores.
The watch, which Apple has described as its most personal device yet, introduces new technologies including the Digital Crown, an innovative way to scroll, zoom and navigate fluidly without obstructing the display. The Retina display with Force Touch on Apple Watch senses the difference between a tap and a press, providing a new way to quickly and easily access relevant controls. The Taptic Engine discreetly delivers a gentle tap on users' wrist whenever they receive a notification or message.
Apple's development community has also created several apps for the device, allowing users to, for example, order a taxi in Spain with MyTaxi, navigate the airport with the Gen`eve A'eroport app, keep track of a Singapore Airlines flight, explore Italy with AroundMe, stay in touch with friends in South Korea with KakaoTalk, find the nearby YouBike station in Taiwan, and access movie tickets with Cinepolis in Mexico.
Apple Watch is available in three collections: Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch and Apple Watch Edition, crafted from custom rose or yellow 18-karat gold alloys.
Apple Watch requires iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus running iOS 8.2 or later.
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