Apple Watch Launch Won’t Happen Before March 20

The launch for the Apple Pay-accepting Apple Watch will not happen until at least March 20, according to comments made by Apple Senior Vice President of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts and reported by 9-to-5 Mac. The official Apple word on the watch’s planned release has been “early 2015.”

Ahrendts’ comment, made to retail employees in a video message, was “we’ve got a new watch launch coming in the Spring.” Spring in 2015 starts on Fri., March 20, and ends on Sat., June 20. Whether than reflects a delay from “early 2015” depends on three things: how one defines “early 2015.” Is that any date before June?; Where in that Spring range the launch happens. June 19 wouldn’t be considered early in the year; whether Ahrendts’ seemingly casual remark factored in the precise calendar dates for Spring next year.

Beyond those three elements, there’s also the excellent chance that no one—Ahrendts included—knows the precise launch date as it’s tied to a final product with all bugs worked out and senior management blessing.

“Last year, a report indicated that Apple planned to ship the wearable in fall 2014, but engineering difficulties delayed the launch to 2015. Subsequent reports confirmed that battery issues were partially to blame for Watch delays, and sources tell us that Apple is still working out kinks in the device’s battery system. Tim Cook has noted that Apple intends for the first-generation model to last all day and be charged each night,” the story noted. “While Apple has reportedly hit that particular goal, the company is still working to speed up the amount of time it takes the inductive MagSafe charging system to fully juice up the product.”

Apple is also preparing for the implications of rolling out a product that is closer to jewelry than anything yet announced. The Apple Watch will roll out in various sizes and with a range of watch band options. The story made a plan, though, that is not necessarily true, when discussing Apple allowing customers to try on the new watches: “iPhones, Macs, iPads, and iPods in retail stores are secured via wires to showroom tables, so Apple actually allowing customers to try on the product before purchase will be a new experience for the company.”

Not at all. Many customers—this writer included—have gone into an Apple Store and tried the iPhone 6 Plus on for size, placing it deep in a pocket to see well it fits and comfortable it feels. All of this was done while the device was connected to its rather long wire. There’s no reason to believe that trying on a watch will require any different mechanism so it won’t be a new experience for store personnel at all.