Apple fans in the United Arab Emirates will be happy to know the Apple Watch will be available in their market on Saturday. Unfortunately, it will be available on the gray market at a premium price. Customers could have to wait until late July for the device to be available officially.
Apple Watch debuts in stores on Friday
The Cupertino-based tech company is set to launch the smartwatch around the world on Friday. It will debut in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Canada among others.
JadoPado.com CEO Omar Kassim explained to Gulf News that it was hard to get ahold of the smartwatch. He said they were expecting stock from suppliers on Saturday. However, the important question is which models of the watch. The lowest priced model is the Apple Watch Sport, which starts at $349. The pricey Apple Watch Edition starts at $10,000. A select number of stores will sell the latter watch.
Kassim initially wanted to sell the lowest price Watch Sport for $500 in the UAE. He admits having concern about how quickly the preorders sold out and how they are not hearing about price commitments from their supplier chains. The strong demand means the prices may start between $750 and $850.
A look back at Apple Watch preorders
Apple received a significant number of preorders within 24 hours of making the Apple Watch. The number passed a million in United States. Online retailers are getting their supply from Hong Kong, the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Australia. Alshop CEO/founder Sheriff Rizwan added that supply is extremely tight, and Apple websites throughout the world have shown delayed delivery times up to July. His website has already received over 250 preorders for the Apple Watch Sport and six for the Watch Limited model.
Rizwan expects there will be about 300 units available on Saturday. Not surprisingly, the majority of the demand is for the Apple Watch Sport, and fans will want to access the website as soon as possible.
