Apple Watch

Today is the day when Apple’s “most personal product” became available for the public to pre-order. As usual, lucky consumers in Australia get ahead of the curve thanks to their privileged timezone, and it appears they didn’t disappoint Apple, with reports suggesting that they flocked in droves to various retail outlets around the country to benefit from the world’s first hands-on experience with the Cupertino company’s new product line. The Apple Watch itself was available for pre-order online, and could be touched and tried on in-store with what Apple is calling 'try-on appointment', but couldn’t be taken away as this informative personal video that was originally streamed via the Periscope app shows.

The Apple Watch reviews hit the blogosphere a short while ago, and with a generally fair-to-positive consensus, looks well-placed with pre-orders looming. As well as offering a better insight to the Apple Watch as a whole, a number of the reviews tapped into features that weren't previously apparent, and notably, we now know that the wearable can hook up to Wi-Fi to gather certain information even when the connected iPhone is completely dead or out of range.

Aside from its credentials as a tough, robust material for protecting displays, sapphire crystal does sound like a nice, premium concoction, and it's one that the Apple Watch - barring the Sports edition - will be taking full advantage of. The device, which goes up for pre-order shortly, has only been peeked at by a select few, but one repair store has managed to get hold of the sapphire crystal display, and thus taken the opportunity to test its resistance against keys, hammers, and other such everyday tools.

The big question - after pre-ordering an Apple Watch - remains: when can you expect the device to be in your hands after you've placed your order? Apple announced that the watch will start shipping out on the 24th, but recent online store listings are ranging the shipments from 24th to somewhere in May as well, depending on the model. Head over the jump to catch the details.

The Apple Watch is set to go up for pre-order on the 10th of April, and if you were wondering whether you should order one for yourself, then here’s a roundup of some of the best reviews available for Cupertino’s first ever wearable.

Apple has already revealed pretty much everything that we wanted to know about the Apple Watch - different models, pricing structure, etc. - at its Spring Forward event a while back. One thing that has always been elusive however, is the official packaging in which the Cupertino’s new wearable would ship in. If this new leak is anything to go by, then the Apple Watch box is not so elusive anymore.

As Apple gears up for an influx of pre-orders of the Apple Watch from the 10th of April, it has now been revealed that reservations for in-store pickup will be limited to one per customer via the Reserve and Pickup service. Head over the jump to learn more about this new policy.

Time is ticking along just nicely, and in a couple of weeks you'll be able to watch it ebb away in a whole new way once you have an Apple Watch strapped to one of your extremities. Some lucky people already have one though, and they don't all work at Apple.

While the success of Apple Watch will mostly hang on the product itself, employees will also play a key role in proceedings. After all, it is many of they who will attempt to sell the product during the try-on sessions beginning in a few days' time, and even once this pre-order period has run its course, it seems certain that those working at Apple Stores will be essential in the company's attempt to grab a chunk of the wearable market. As a reward, Apple employees will enjoy a 50 percent discount on the lower-end Apple Watch variants, with a tidy $550 discount on the gold Watch Edition.