MacRumors

Apple has taken its online store down to prepare for the launch of Apple Watch pre-orders, as it often does ahead of a product launch. Pre-orders for the Apple Watch are expected to begin at 12:01 AM Pacific Time or 3:01 AM Eastern Time in the United States. Orders for the MacBook, which goes on sale on April 10, may also kick off at 12:01 AM PT when the store comes back up.

Pre-orders are occurring in all first wave launch countries at the same time so customers in other countries will be able to order at a local time equivalent to 12:01 AM PT. Here's a full list of first wave launch countries and their order times (in local time):

- U.S., Canada: 12:01 a.m. PDT, 3:01 a.m. EDT
- U.K.: 8:01 a.m.
- Germany: 9:01 a.m.
- France: 9:01 a.m.
- Australia: 5:01 p.m. AEST, 4:31 PM ACST, 3:01 PM AWST
- Hong Kong: 3:01 p.m.
- China: 3:01 p.m.
- Japan 4:01 p.m.

Apple will accept online orders for the Apple Watch both through its website and through the Apple Store app. Apple's head of retail Angela Ahrendts made an announcement earlier today to let prospective buyers know that supplies of the Apple Watch are likely not going to meet demand, so users hoping for the earliest delivery dates should plan to order right as pre-orders become available.

Information obtained from the German Apple Store app earlier this week has suggested that some models of the stainless steel Apple Watch may be so limited that they won't ship by April 24, but it remains unclear if that was an early estimate or a shipping estimate applicable only to Germany.

Still, buyers should be prepared to possibly encounter estimated delivery dates that could be as far off as June for some band choices, including the Modern Buckle, Leather Loop, and Link Bracelet. Edition Watches may ship in May.

If you're still trying to figure out which Apple Watch to buy, check out our Apple Watch Buyer's Guide and our Buyer's Guide video, which is available below. They'll give you a rundown on all of the available options and some things to take into consideration when choosing a watch.

Apple Watch pricing begins at $349 for the Apple Watch Sport, $549 for the stainless steel Apple Watch, and $10,000 for the gold Apple Watch Edition. Pricing varies heavily based on band choice, with the cheapest band being the $49 Sport Band and the most expensive band being the $449 Link Bracelet. Early Apple Watch orders will be delivered to customers beginning April 24, which is the official launch date for the device.

It's just after 9:00 a.m. on Friday, April 10, which means Apple Stores in Australia have opened up for the day. Prospective Apple Watch buyers in the country are already lining up outside of stores in the hopes of getting a chance to try on the Apple Watch in person.

Several Australians on Twitter and Instagram have posted images of people lining up outside of Apple Stores, and the first people waiting in line have already been allowed into the store to check out the Apple Watch display units. Several people are also live streaming their experiences with the Apple Watch on Periscope.

Apple retail stores in Australia are already outfitted with Apple Watch tables that have the Apple Watch on display alongside an iPad, and there are also tables that have the Apple Watch on display under glass, where the devices can be tried on.

Customers who are doing Apple Watch try-ons are walk-in customers who waited in line to see the device, as try-on appointments cannot yet be scheduled online. MacRumors has learned that try-on appointments will be available online in Australia later today, possibly after pre-orders begin.

People are also beginning to line up in other locations around the world where Apple retail stores have not opened, and as can be seen in this image from Japan, stores that will be opening soon are already equipped with try on tables and Apple Watch display units.

Apple Watch try-on appointments in the United States will not begin until stores open in the morning on Friday, April 10, but based on the lines and the crowds in other countries, it's likely most Apple Stores will be very busy tomorrow. Apple Watch pre-orders will be available beginning April 10 at 12:01 AM Pacific Time.

Apple has spent a total of $38 million on Apple Watch television advertisements since its March 9 media event, reports Reuters, citing numbers from TV ad tracking site iSpot.tv. Apple has been marketing the Apple Watch aggressively as it marks an entirely new product category and the company's first serious venture into wearable devices.

$38 million is just $4 million less than the $42 million Apple spent on advertising for the iPhone and iPhone 6 Plus over the course of the last five months. The Apple Watch commercial has been shown on TV more than 300 times since March 9, and more than half of those spots have come during primetime shows like "The Walking Dead," "The Voice," and the NCAA basketball tournament.

Reality television show "The Voice" also marked one of the Apple Watch's first appearances on a celebrity wrist. One of the singing competition's judges, Pharell Williams, wore an Apple Watch on Monday's episode.

Apple Watch advertising picked up on Monday of this week as we began the countdown to Apple Watch pre-orders. Apple began airing the Apple Watch commercial more frequently, as Monday also marked an NCAA final between Duke and Wisconsin.

In addition to being shown on TV, the Apple Watch has also graced the covers of several magazines in the United States and other countries around the world in an effort to highlight its usefulness as a fitness device and its position as a fashion accessory. It's been shown off in Fitness, Self, Vogue, and more.

Apple Watch pre-orders begin at 12:01 AM Pacific Time on April 10, which is also the date that Apple will begin offering Apple Watch try-on appointments in its retail stores. We can expect Apple Watch advertising to pick up even more over the course of the next two weeks as we approach the device's official April 24 launch date.

Even amid a decline in U.S. PC shipments, Apple continues to see steady shipment growth, according to new PC shipping estimates from Gartner. Apple shipped nearly 1.7 million PCs in 1Q15, up from 1.5 million in 1Q14, marking an 8.9 percent increase. Overall PC growth in the United States in 1Q15 was down 1.3 percent compared to 1Q14, with Dell and other smaller manufacturers seeing a decline in shipments. Gartner estimated total PC shipments in the U.S. during 1Q15 at 13.9 million, down from 14 million last year.

During the quarter, Apple captured 12 percent of the market, up from 10.9 percent in the year ago quarter. Apple is positioned as the third largest PC vendor in the United States, and continues to trail both HP and Dell when it comes to market share.

HP shipped 3.6 million PCs during 1Q15, garnering it 26.1 percent of the market. Dell shipped 3.2 million for 23.2 percent of the market, and Lenovo came in after Apple with 1.7 million shipments for 11.8 percent of the market. ASUS, the fifth largest vendor in the U.S., sold just under a million PCs for 7.2 percent of the market.

IDC also released its shipment estimates today, and as is typical, its numbers are different than Gartner's numbers, in part because Gartner counts Windows-based tablets as personal computers, while IDC does not. According to IDC, overall PC shipments in the United States for 1Q15 were at 14 million, with Apple responsible for shipping 1.6 million PCs during the quarter, up from 1.5 million in 1Q14. IDC estimates Apple saw 1.7 percent growth with 10.9 percent market share.

IDC also ranks HP and Dell as the top two vendors in the United States, but its estimates place Lenovo as the third largest vendor with Apple coming in fourth and Toshiba coming in fifth.

As for worldwide shipments, Apple does not rank as one of the top five vendors so its worldwide shipments are not broken down in IDC and Gartner PC shipping estimates. Total worldwide PC shipments for 1Q15 were at 71.7 million according to Gartner, a decline of 5.2 percent compared to the year ago quarter, while IDC estimates put total worldwide shipments at 68.5 million, a decline of 6.7 percent.

It is important to note that data from Gartner and IDC is preliminary and that the numbers can shift somewhat, sometimes dramatically. Last year, for example, Gartner predicted Apple shipments at 1.521 million, later revising the number to 1.534 million. IDC predicted Apple shipments of 1.471 PCs, while the final number was 1.559 million.

iPhone service and repair website iPhonefixed earlier this week got its hands on a sapphire crystal Apple Watch display cover and decided to put the 38mm part through a scratch resistance test to weigh Apple's claims of a completely scratch-resistant sapphire display.

The website ran the display cover through its test, rubbing it against a stone wall, scratching it with a coin, key, and abrasive paper, and finishing off with tapping the screen with a hammer and drilling it with a power drill. Following the tests, iPhonefixed found Apple's promise of a scratch-resistant display to be entirely accurate, with not a single scratch or scuff on the screen even after all of the site's attempts at leaving a mark.

Apple's promotion of the sapphire crystal display cover marketed it as a material "ideal for protecting the Retina Display" on the Apple Watch, due to it being one of the hardest transparent materials on the planet next to actual diamonds.

Though iPhonefixed was not able to test the Apple Watch Sport's Ion-X glass display cover, with the lower-end model's "aluminosilicate glass that’s especially resistant to scratches and impact," it too is likely to hold up well to abuse.

Check out the full Apple Watch sapphire display cover scratch test video by iPhonefixed right here.

Earlier this year, news leaked that Google was working on an Android Wear app for the iOS App Store, and it appears that the company's progress on engineering Android Wear devices to work with iPhones is nearing completion.

According to a source that spoke to The Verge, Android Wear on the iPhone works similarly to the Apple Watch, connecting through a companion app and providing functions like Notifications. Google is said to be "close to finishing" the final technical details behind the project.

In its current state of development, Android Wear works along with a companion app on the iPhone and supports basic functions like notifications -- as you can see in the photo below. As it does on Android, on the iPhone Android Wear also supports Google Now's ambient information cards, voice search, and other voice actions. It should also support some more advanced features with Google's own iOS apps, like replying to Gmail messages.

If Google finishes the project and submits its Android Wear app to the iOS App Store, it is not clear how Apple will react, given that the app would allow Android Wear devices to compete directly with the Apple Watch. Apple allows Pebble and other competing fitness bands to have apps in the App Store, so it may also permit Google to release an Android Wear app, but at the same time, Apple has aggressively cut down on products similar to the Apple Watch in its retail stores.

It no longer sells fitness devices like the Fitbit, the Jawbone UP, and the Nike Fuelband, and over the years, Apple has also had some altercations with Google. Apple used to feature Google Maps on its iOS devices, but moved on to its own proprietary mapping solution several years ago.

Android Wear watches are built on Google's platform but are available from a number of Apple's competitors, including Samsung and LG. Popular smartwatches like the LG G, the Moto 360, and Samsung's Gear lineup are all Android Wear devices.

There is no word on when Google might release an iOS app capable of officially connecting Android Wear devices to iPhones, but it's possible an announcement could come during the company's I/O developer conference in late May.

Apple's upcoming ultra thin 12-inch MacBook with a Retina display has been overshadowed by all of the Apple Watch news that's been surfacing over the course of the last week, but the super slim device is set to launch online and in-stores on Friday, April 10, alongside the Apple Watch.

Ahead of the MacBook's launch, Apple has given select sites MacBook review units to test out, and those early MacBook reviews are coming out today. We're gathering up tidbits from some of the best reviews below, which give us our first look at how the MacBook performs with its low power Core M processor and a look at how users feel about the new keyboard and the new trackpad.

Many of the reviewers loved the extremely thin size of the MacBook, its impressive Retina display, and its Force Touch Trackpad, but were unhappy with some of the compromises that are made with the machine -- lack of ports, the keyboard, the processing speed, and the high price. Almost all of the reviews pointed out some of the shortcomings in the Core M processor, noting that it's much slower than Apple's other notebook offerings and suitable for lighter use, much like a Chromebook. It was, however, able to run Photoshop and Logic Pro, just slower.

Several of the reviewers disliked the new keyboard when first trying it due to its thin keys with little travel, but most were able to adjust to the different feel of typing on it after a short period of time. The increased size of the keys was also hard to adjust to for touch typists. Battery life in general ranged from seven hours up, but most of the reviews saw shorter battery life than the promised nine hours of web browsing. Overall, the consensus between reviewers seemed to be that while this is a great MacBook, it's not a solution for everyone and is going to appeal to a niche set of people due to its high price and the performance compromises.

Dieter Bohn, The Verge:

Basically, if you do anything that's going to really tax the processor, this laptop probably isn't going to cut it for you. In that sense it's actually kind of like a Chromebook. It's fast enough for 70 percent of what I do, but a little slower than what I'm used to. For about 20 percent of what I do -- mostly photo editing -- it works but requires patience. But it's the last 10 percent that's hard: video editing, really big iPhoto libraries, basically anything processor-intensive can get rough.

Andrew Cunningham, Ars Technica:

The port situation is the biggest problem. The question isn't whether people can live with only one port, but whether they'll want to put up with it when there are so many other options available. Using the MacBook as a primary computer requires you to subscribe to a mostly wireless lifestyle that not everyone is going to be ready for, and even if you already use Macs switching to a MacBook means throwing your dongle and cable arsenal out and starting over. [...]

Ultimately the new MacBook feels like a first-generation product--a very good first-generation product, but a first-generation product nevertheless. It's got some promise and a couple of major shortcomings and you don't need to be the first person who takes the leap into the Brave New Future it represents.

Jason Snell, Macworld:

The MacBook keyboard's better than I expected it to be--I was able to score 118 words per minute on TypeRacer using it--but it never felt particularly comfortable. If you're not a keyboard snob, you may not even notice the difference, but if there's any single feature that would make me reluctant to buy a MacBook, it would be the keyboard. [...]

I never found using the MacBook sluggish. Then again, I didn't try to play games on it. But again, if you're trying to play games on the MacBook, you may be missing the point. The integrated Intel HD Graphics 5300 processor is more than enough to drive the Retina display with no lag, and I found Apple's various interface animations ran smoothly.

Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch:

I came to the MacBook with certain expectations; specifically, that it would not be able to meet my more "pro" level needs, in terms of Photoshop, Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. Luckily, the MacBook defied those expectations and performed well with each of the above applications.

Which isn't to say performance is on par with, say, the brand new 13-inch MacBook Pro -- it isn't. But pre-launch concerns of this machine being seriously hampered by its low-power Intel M processor were, in my experience, very premature. The new MacBook handled the tasks I threw at it so well that I am no seriously considering whether or not I can adopt one full-time, as a replacement to my original 2012 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro road warrior.

Dana Wollman, Engadget:

That's the thing, though: While USB Type-C ports will one day become industry standard, they're still uncommon enough that you will need a dongle to plug in any of your peripherals that use a full-sized USB Type-A connector. In my case, that meant I couldn't charge my phone off my laptop. I also couldn't use the USB headset I normally wear while podcasting and making voice recordings. If I did want to use my USB gadgets, I would have had to plug in a $79 adapter -- that's right, it's not even included in the box. Again, I expect USB Type-C will one day be the norm, and it's possible that your needs are simple enough that you can already live without the full-sized USB ports.

Joanna Stern, The Wall Street Journal:

I expect the new MacBook to follow the same path as the Air. Over the next few years, it will improve, and become an affordable, indispensable tool for life in the future. But here, now, in the present day, there are more practical slim, everyday laptop choices. The MacBook Air is the best option all around, the MacBook Pro Retina 13 is a great step up, and PC users can do no better than Dell's latest XPS 13.

Christina Warren, Mashable:

The MacBook's Retina screen is joy to behold. As someone who has grown addicted to high-res displays, having such crisp visuals on a notebook this small is fantastic. In fact, I'm not sure how I'm going to return to my 13-inch MacBook Air.

Colors pop, text is crisp, and everything is visible from all angles. Using it outdoors or in low light was no problem -- the screen is great.

Other reviews: CNET, Wired, Slashgear, USA Today, The Loop, Bloomberg, and Six Colors.

The Retina MacBook will be available for purchase online and in stores on Friday, April 10. Prices start at $1,299 for the entry-level model with a 1.1GHz processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. A 1.2GHz model with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD is also available for purchase, and both models can be upgraded with a 1.3GHz processor.

Following reports that Apple Watch Edition stock will be limited to select Apple Stores in the United States and other launch countries, MacRumors has discovered that Apple's Find Locations tool enables prospective buyers to search their local area to check for Apple Watch Edition availability. Below, we have identified some of the major cities and metropolitan areas in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong and Japan that will carry the Edition.

To check Apple Watch Edition availability in your local area, navigate to Apple's Find Locations website, click on Sales, use your current GPS-based location or enter another one, select Watch Edition from the list of all products, and click on the Go button. A map will then display nearby Apple Store locations that will be carrying the Edition. If you live outside the United States, you will need to change the country flag in the top right first.

United States
— New York City: Fifth Avenue, SoHo, Upper West Side
— Boston: Boylston Street
— Chicago: North Michigan Avenue, Lincoln Park
— Philadelphia: Walnut Street
— Washington DC: Georgetown
— Atlanta: Lenox Square
— Miami: Lincoln Road
— Virginia: Tyson's Corner Center
— Newark, Delaware: Christiana Mall
— Bay Area: San Francisco, Stanford
— Los Angeles: The Grove, Third St. (Santa Monica), South Coast (Costa Mesa)
— Las Vegas: Fashion Show
— Houston: Highland Village
— Dallas: Northpark Center
— Seattle: Bellevue Square

Canada
— Toronto: Eaton Centre
— Montreal: Sainte-Catherine

United Kingdom
— London: Covent Garden, Regent Street, Selfridges

Australia
— Sydney: George Street
— Brisbane: MacArthur Chambers
— Melbourne: Southland (Cheltenham)

France
— Paris: Carrousel du Louvre, Opera, Galeries Lafayette

Germany
— Berlin: Kurfurstendamm
— Munich: Rosenstrasse

Hong Kong
— Festival Walk
— International Finance Centre (IFC)
— Causeway Bay

Japan
— Tokyo: Isetan, Ginza, Omotesando
— Osaka: Shinsaibashi

China will also be carrying the Apple Watch Edition in at least 12 of 19 retail stores throughout the country, as the market is expected to be a major contributor to Edition sales. Apple Watch pre-orders and try-on appointments begin April 10, and the device officially goes on sale April 24 in the first wave launch countries listed above. We will update this post if we come across any other locations carrying the Edition.

A collection of major tech blogs yesterday published their in-depth reviews for the Apple Watch, one of which was Yahoo! Tech's David Pogue, whose opinion fell in line with most other sites, describing the Apple Watch as "light-years better" than any other smartwatch, but "you don't need one."

When discussing the Watch's tethering to an iPhone, Pogue reveals a few pieces of information about the Watch that Apple has yet to comment on in any promotional material for the wrist-worn device, mostly regarding some cellular-related functionality sans iPhone.

And here’s a surprising feature that Apple hasn’t said anything about previously: When the watch is in a known Wi-Fi hotspot, the watch can perform the most essential online functions even when your phone is completely dead, turned off, or absent. It can query Siri, for example, send and receive texts, and send/receive drawings and tap patterns to other watch owners. That’s impressive.

According to Pogue's week-long experience with the Apple Watch, even with the iPhone dead or turned off, his Watch could still perform these basic iPhone-reliant functions like sending and receiving texts and drawings. He never mentions actual phone calls, which are undoubtedly still reliant on full use of an iPhone.

Pogue also mentions the Watch's ability to communicate with an iPhone over both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, meaning the two devices can communicate indefinitely as long as they stay under the same Wi-Fi connection even when they're out of Bluetooth range, a previously known but still notable aspect of the Watch.

The Wall Street Journal's Apple Watch review makes a passing reference to Pogue's claim, though providing fewer details than Yahoo! Tech's piece. "The watch does work (a little) away from the phone," The Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey A. Fowler said. "When you’re around a known Wi-Fi network, the watch can tap directly into it."

Stay up to date on the latest Apple Watch news, from estimated shipping and delivery dates to the newest reviews, before Apple's first wearable device goes up for pre-order tonight at 12:01 AM Pacific Time.

Following the release of iOS 8.3 for iPhone and iPad on Wednesday, many users have turned to the Apple Support Communities, Reddit and MacRumors discussion forums about Touch ID not working in the App Store on the latest software version. The issue affects multiple iPhone and iPad models, including the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and iPad Air 2, although the bug does not appear to affect all users.

"I just updated to iOS 8.3 and it completely removed my ability to use Touch ID in the App Store on my iPhone 6," a post on Reddit reads. "It asks for my password for each and every purchase. Is anyone else seeing this? The option to use Touch ID in the App Store is on. I have already tried turning it off and on again to re-enter my password."

The bug persists for many regardless of whether Touch ID is listed as enabled for purchases under Settings > iTunes & App Store, and there does not appear to be a proper solution for the problem yet. Apple may be forced to resolve the bug through a minor point update such as iOS 8.3.1, as it has done in the past with iOS 8.0.2 when the original iOS 8.0.1 update broke Touch ID and Wi-Fi entirely.

Fortunately, the lack of Touch ID within the App Store is mainly an inconvenience at this point for affected users, rather than a serious security issue. iPhone and iPad users will still be prompted to enter their Apple ID password when purchasing apps from the App Store, which was standard functionality before Touch ID was released on the iPhone 5s. Apple has yet to provide comment on the matter.

Apple issued a reminder on Thursday that Apple Watch pre-orders and try-on appointments begin April 10, with retail chief Angela Ahrendts stating that Apple Watch orders will be taken exclusively online at launch to ensure that customers have the best selection and experience possible.

Apple also believes that "tremendous interest" in the Apple Watch will result in demand exceeding supply at launch. Yesterday, it was reported that some Apple Watch models may be unavailable for April 24 delivery based on shipping times that briefly appeared on the Apple Online Store in the United Kingdom and Germany.

"We are excited to welcome customers tomorrow and introduce them to Apple Watch, our most personal device yet. Based on the tremendous interest from people visiting our stores, as well as the number of customers who have gone to the Apple Online Store to mark their favorite Apple Watch ahead of availability, we expect that strong customer demand will exceed our supply at launch,” said Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail and Online Stores. “To provide the best experience and selection to as many customers as we can, we will be taking orders for Apple Watch exclusively online during the initial launch period.”

Apple Watch pre-orders begin on April 10 at 12:01 AM Pacific, or equivalent local times in other countries, in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and United Kingdom. Apple Watch officially goes on sale April 24 in the aforementioned launch countries, although in-store pickup will not be accepted without a reservation.