Apple Watch Series 7 Pre-orders Officially Open This Friday, Landing in Stores Next Week

Following some pretty solid rumours last week that Apple was preparing to ship its newest Apple Watch in the next couple of weeks, the company has just officially confirmed that pre-orders will indeed begin this Friday, with the wearable landing in stores a week later.

This morning’s official announcement also added a surprise bonus for those considering picking up a cellular version of the Apple Watch Series 7: Customers on select carriers will be able to cash in on a $100 rebate upon activating their Apple Watch.

Sadly, the rebate only seems to be available on carriers in the U.S. right now, and even there it’s limited to T-Mobile and Verizon, so it looks like those who plan to activate their new wearables on AT&T will be out of luck.

Otherwise, the new Apple Watch is launching simultaneously in over 50 countries and regions, including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, the UAE, the U.K., and the U.S.

As with other recent Apple product releases, preorders will open Friday, October 8, at 5 a.m. PDT, or you’ll be able to pick one up in person at your local Apple Store or other Apple retailer next Friday, October 15. Preorders should also begin arriving in customers’ hands on that day as well.

How Much Will It Cost?

Apple’s detailed pricing pages have not yet gone live, so we’ll likely have to wait until Friday to get a more specific idea of what each of the various configurations and finishes will be priced at, but generally, everything is expected to be in line with last year’s Apple Watch Series 6.

Apple notes that the Apple Watch Series 7 starts at $399, which presumably refers to the smallest 41mm GPS-only model with an aluminum case and a basic band such as the Sport Loop, Solo Loop, or Sport Band.

This is the same pricing as last year’s Series 6, so if Apple follows suit for the rest of the lineup, we can expect the cellular 41mm Apple Watch Series 7 to start at $499, and the larger 45mm models to go for $429 and $529, for GPS-only and GPS+Cellular, respectively.

Likewise, last year’s Series 6 models in Stainless Steel started at $699, while the Titanium “Edition” version began at $799, although it’s worth keeping in mind that both of those models are only available in the GPS+Cellular versions.

The Apple Watch Series 7 will be available in the same finishes as the Series 6, although the standard aluminum models are getting a new range of colours, with midnight and starlight replacing space grey and silver, plus new Blue, Green, and (PRODUCT)RED versions. The other Apple Watch models remain available in the same colours as before, with silver, graphite, and gold for the stainless steel, and titanium and space black titanium for the Apple Watch Edition.

Note that if you want to get your hands on a new Apple Watch Series 7 right away, you may want to get up early on Friday, as there’s a good chance that supplies will be limited.

Apple ran into production problems early last month with the new model, reportedly as a result of the re-engineered display, and this is the most likely reason why the new Apple Watch wasn’t available to ship alongside the iPhone 13 lineup last month.

Although everything is supposedly back on track now, there’s still a good chance that Apple is playing catch-up, and analysts have been predicting the new wearable will be in short supply for a while.

Further, even though Apple is weathering the global chip shortage better than most, it’s still struggling to keep up with demand even for the iPhone 13, which by all reports had a pretty good head start. While it’s safe to say that there will be lower demand for the Apple Watch Series 7, Apple has also likely factored this into its production schedules.

What’s New for the Series 7?

This year’s Apple Watch gets a larger display, with a slight vertical size increase to 41mm and 45mm, although they’re still fully compatible with older watch bands.

The new display is also stronger and more crack-resistant, and the Apple Watch Series 7 is now certified as dust-resistant. Users who like to use the wearable for sleep tracking will also appreciate faster USB-C charging that will allow you to get through the night with a mere eight minutes on the charger.

Although the Apple Watch Series 7 doesn’t offer any significant upgrades for users of last year’s Series 6, the cumulative upgrades across the past 2-3 years could make it a compelling purchase for owners of older generations, even if it wasn’t what many folks were hoping for, since you also gain last year’s Blood Oxygen Sensor and the Always-On Display from the Apple Watch Series 5.