Apple Watch Series 7 preorders start Friday, October 8, but good luck getting one

Apple on Monday announced that preorders for the Apple Watch Series 7 will begin at 8 a.m. ET on Friday, October 8, and begin shipping on Friday, October 15.

The Apple Watch Series 7 was announced at Apple’s California Streaming event alongside the iPhone 13, iPad mini, and ninth-gen iPad. While those products all began shipping on September 24, Apple opted to delay the Series 7 Watch for unknown reasons. Rumors suggest that supply and manufacturing constraints were behind the delay and will likely affect availability for early adopters.

The Apple Watch Series 7 is a minor update to the Series 6, bringing a larger display (41mm and 45mm vs 40mm and 44mm) and faster charging. The display borders have been trimmed to 1.7mm giving the watch a true edge-to-edge feel and Apple has tweaked elements of watchOS to take advantage of the larger display area. There are also two new watch faces, Contour and Modular Duo, designed specifically for the new watch.

Additionally, Apple says the Apple Watch Series 7 is “the most durable Apple Watch ever” thanks to a stronger, more crack-resistant front crystal as well as IPX dust resistance. There are several new colors options as well, including midnight, starlight, green, a new shade of blue, and red. There are also stainless steel and titanium models in gold, graphite, silver, and space black. 

Otherwise, not much has changed with the new Apple Watch. It has the same sensors (blood-oxygen, ECG, electrical heart sensor), 18-hour battery life, and processor as the Series 6, as well as the same features in watchOS 8. Rumors of a major redesign with flatter edges didn’t come to pass, nor did any of the next-gen health features that Apple is reportedly working to deliver, including skin temperature and non-invasive glucose tracking.

Supply of the Apple Watch Series 7 is expected to be severely constrained, so interested buyers should log on as soon as it’s available. The first round of iPhone 13 and iPad mini orders sold out quickly and are all delayed by up to a month.

You can preorder the Apple Watch Series 7 at Apple.com and other retailers beginning Friday, October 8. Like the iPhone 13, Apple is offering trade-in deals and a carrier feal that gives customers $100 back they purchase an Apple Watch directly through Apple and activate it with T-Mobile/Sprint or Verizon.