Apple
will debut its much-hyped Apple Watch, allowing prospective buyers a
chance to try on a variety of sizes, straps and settings and place a
pre-order before the gadget officially hits the market on April 24th.
Apple’s head of retail
Angela Ahrendts
has been working alongside design chief Jony Ive to remodel the tech
giant’s retail stores so they look like the sort of place one might
happily part with tens of thousands of dollars on a
rose-gold-encased wearable.
(In a recent
New Yorker profile, Ive recalled the comment of one unnamed wag: “I’m not going to buy a watch if I can’t stand on carpet.”)
PARIS, FRANCE – MARCH 27: Apple unveils the
creative barricade in front of the new Apple Watch Shop at Galeries
Lafayette Paris Haussmann on March 27 in Paris, France. Beginning April
10 in nine countries, Apple Watch will be available for preview, try-on
by appointment at Apple’s retail stores, Galeries Lafayette Paris,
Selfridges London and Isetan Tokyo and for pre-order through the Apple
Online Store. (Photo by Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images for Apple)
Apple has remained predictably mum on what exactly it’ll be doing to
upgrade its now 14-year-old Apple Store format beyond the province of
“tourists and truants.”
In recent days, close watchers of the Cupertino, Calif. gadget firm
have managed to obtain leaked details on the revamp ahead of this
Friday’s rollout. The excellent Apple-obsessive blog 9to5Mac
published photos of what Apple is describing as “magical” display tables, where the watches will run a demo showcasing their features and apps.
Only shoppers with reservations will be able to try on an Apple
Watch, and even those lucky few will be limited to testing out two
models on their wrist. This limitation appears to be part of a larger
Apple Store strategy spearheaded by Ahrendts to transform the atmosphere
by cutting down on customer lines and wait times.
“Tell your customers we have more availability online, and show them how easy it is to order,” wrote Ahrendts in a
memo to employees ahead of the Apple Watch launch, obtained by
Business Insider. “You’ll make their day.”