Several Apple Retail Stores in Australia have started offering Apple Watch for in-store pickup. Here’s how the in-store pickup reservation system works:

While buying the Apple Watch on the Australian online Apple Store, you now get an option that says “Interested in buying in-store”.

You can check for reservation availability for that model. If the model is available, you get an option to select nearby Apple retail stores where it is in stock. Apple retail stores where the model is not available in-store is grayed out.

When you select the store where the model is available, the site displays a green check mark and the next available reservation.

You then need to request and verify your registration code. You need to text the registration code from a local mobile phone to a phone number and enter the unique registration code that is sent back in the reservation form with your phone number. You get 30 minutes to complete the reservation and schedule an in-store pickup time.

If the model is not available for in-store pickup then you will get a message informing you to check back tomorrow or buy online, as the inventory is updated each day at 8:00 am.

It is not clear how much stock is available at the retail stores, but at the time of writing this post, models with limited availability even online like Space Gray and Space Black, are currently unavailable. The same applies for bands like the Modern Buckle and the Link Bracelet.

The reservation page is live in U.K. as well, which indicates that it will also be available in the U.S. shortly. The U.K. reservation page says that the first reservations will be available from 6:00 am in the morning.

If you’re planning to buy the Apple Watch, don’t forget to check our exhaustive Apple Watch Buyer’s guide.

Have you been waiting for the in-store availability of the Apple Watch to get one?

Update:

The Apple Watch in-store reservation is live in the U.S. as well. Interestingly, unlike Australia, more limited models like the Space Gray Apple Watch Sport seem to be available in several retails stores. The Space Black Apple Watch with link bracelet also seems to be available in one retail store in Texas at the time of writing this post.

Thanks everyone for the tip!