SAN FRANCISCO — The Apple Watch should be available in brick-and-mortar stores in about two weeks, Apple officials announced Thursday.
The smartwatches were unveiled in April but have thus far only been available for purchase at Apple’s online store and select luxury boutiques. While the tech giant has yet to release sales figures, demand for the watches has resulted in a backlog of orders.
“The response to Apple Watch has surpassed our expectations in every way,” Apple senior vice president of operations Jeff Williams said. Williams added that most Apple Watch orders placed in May should be shipped within two weeks, at which time some models will become available in Apple retail stores.
Apple Watch is currently available in Australia, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, and the United States. It will also become available in Italy, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan on June 26.
The watch connects wirelessly to a user’s iPhone for messaging, calls and apps, with prices ranging from $349 for a low-end model to a limited edition gold version costing $10,000.
Apple also recalls Beats Pill XL speakers
In other Apple news, the company announced on Wednesday that it’s recalling Beats Pill XL wireless speakers because of danger batteries might get so hot they ignite in flames.
“Apple has determined that, in rare cases, the battery in Beats Pill XL may overheat and pose a fire safety risk,” the California-based owner of Beats said in a release.
Apple received eight reports of the Beats Pill XL speakers overheating. One incident involved someone’s finger getting burned and another involved damage to a desk, according to a recall advisory posted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Apple asked people to stop using Beats Pill XL speakers and promised refunds of $325 each.
The commission estimated about 222,000 of the speakers were sold in the United States and another 11,000 in Canada. No other Beats or Apple products are affected by the recall, the Silicon Valley-based company said.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2015
