Apple starts charging Apple Watch buyers as it preps first Watch shipments
Apple started charging buyers' credit cards on Monday afternoon for a variety of different Watch models, not just the popular Sport. If a charge from Apple appears as pending on your card, check your Watch order status: It should have changed from "processing" to "preparing for shipment."
It's unclear whether the first Watch shipments will actually be delivered on Friday--Macworld Executive Editor Susie Ochs and I both preordered as soon as orders began on April 10 and received estimated shipping dates of April 24-May 8. But our cards were both charged yesterday, hers for the stainless steel Watch with Milanese loop band and mine for the 38mm Sport with white Sport band. Apple typically sends out a tracking number when an item actually ships--we'll report back when we get those numbers, and when our Watches arrive.
Apple reportedly sold more than a million Apple Watches on April 10 in the U.S. alone, according to data analysis from Slice Intelligence, and demand has exceeded supply, Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts recently told the company's employees. That's why Apple won't be selling the Watch in-store until at least June. All Watch models are now back-ordered online through June, too.