The Apple Watch is becoming more available than ever, from today. Anyone can now order an Apple Watch online and pick it up in an Apple Store. Technically you could order in an Apple Store and pick it up right there.
Until now the Apple Watch has been in short supply. As a result even if you went into an Apple Store you'd have to order it online and wait for it to be delivered to your home. Yes, via a waiting list in most model's cases.
From today anyone can reserve an Apple Watch online then head right into an Apple Store to pick it up. This applies to the UK, Germany, France, US, Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong and Japan.
The new service is called Reserve and Pick Up. It currently appears to only apply to the Apple Watch but may extend to other Apple products in the future. At the moment this makes most sense for the Apple Watch as a "Specialist" will be ready in store to answer any questions and help with setup.
The Apple Reserve and Pick Up system applies to all Apple Watch lines. But the site does say, "Due to high demand, it’s possible this watch will become unavailable before you confirm your reservation." So if you want one you'd better get ordering quickly then.
An Apple Watch ordered now, for example, will be available for a pick-up slot at 10:30am today in London according to the site.
To order a Watch you simply go to the online store, select a model, then choose "Check reservation availability". This takes you to a page with a drop down to select a location, anywhere that it is unavailable appears in grey. Availability slots appear to be in half hour sections. So, technically, you could order on a Mac in an Apple Store, or on your phone as you head down there, and head right over to collect it at your slot time.