Let me tell you the story of ordering my Apple Watch Series 7. I was still awake at 4AM on the west coast last Friday, so I sensibly decided to stay up until five. Went through my Apple Store app on my iPhone and at about three past five, I was in. Since there had been no “set up your order” feature as there was when iPhone 13 launched, I had to chose each thing individually. I chose the Midnight, 45mm, GPS with a Midnight Sport Band. Did I have an Apple Watch to trade? Yes I did. Read the terms and conditions, choose Apple Pay, decide about AppleCare+ - and deciding about one of those steps, I cannot remember which one… but deciding about one of those steps pushed my order from arriving this Friday 15 October to sometime between 8 November and 14 November.
It was eleven minutes past five.
Like an idiot, I hit cancel figuring I had screwed something up. Did it all again and, no… I didn’t screw anything up. The watch I wanted would arrive sometime between 8 November and 14 November.
Like an idiot, I hit cancel. No idea why I thought getting the same watch as a Nike device might work… but it did. My Apple Watch Nike Series 7 GPS, 45mm Midnight Aluminium Case with Anthracite/Black Nike Sport Band should be here this Friday 15 October.
It was 17 minutes past five.
I bring you all of that to illustrate how scarce the devices are likely to be. On Friday, 9 to 5 Mac ran a report, saying shipping estimates for Apple Watch Series 7 had quickly slipped to November. Like I said: Less than 10 minutes. I would call that quick. “As it stands right now,” said the site on Friday:
…the vast majority of Apple Watch Series 7 configurations, ranging from the entry-level aluminum model to the high-end titanium model, are quoting an estimated delivery date in the first or second week of November. If you’re looking for October 15 delivery, you might be able to schedule an Apple Store pickup, but you likely won’t be able to find one for delivery.
The Nike thing’s not gonna work, by the way. I just checked Apple’s site and the watch I ended up ordering now shows delivery between 16 November and 23 November. Same dates for the one I originally tried to order. Different colors and band options moved the delivery a few days. Spot checking a Stainless Steel model moves delivery to the first week of November, but - again - that’s spot checking. Punch up the watch you want and see, but it looks like Apple Watch Series 7 may be playing hard to get for a while, at least if you’re buying straight from Apple.
