If you’re thinking of gifting or upgrading to the Apple Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2 next year, skip the Apple Store and head to Amazon, Best Buy, Target, or Walmart.
Apple will pull its two top-complexity watches (released in September) from physical and virtual shelves indefinitely, starting Dec. 21 after 3 p. m. ET for online purchases and December 24 for in-store purchases. A patent drama involving the new SpO2 and an upcoming import ITC’s ban is all of this, though Apple hopes it can avoid the shutdown with a software update.
Whether the Apple Store is an option or not, we’ll probably tell you to buy any of your Apple products from a store like Amazon and Best Buy. This is where you’ll find discounts even on state-of-the-art Apple products (up to $70 off, on the two new Apple Watch boxes), while Apple’s online page is happy to remain locked to full price.
There are several reasons to opt for the Nine Series or Ultra over an older model. Of course, we’ll mention the double-tap first: arguably one of the most significant additions to a computer in quite some time, this emoji style. The pinch gesture allows you to make things like phone calls and timers from your wrist with one hand. Compared to the Series 8, the Series 9 and Ultra 2 are also faster, brighter, and have more storage.
Amazon — several size and connectivity iterations of both still available, including many on sale up to $70 off. Two-day shipping is available for most models.
Best Buy: Multiple iterations of length and connectivity of the two available, many of which are on sale for up to $70 off. Check out Best Buy’s December 21 launch for a new all-time potential maximum value in the 45mm Series 9 GPS.
Goal: length and connectivity iterations of the two available, many of which are on sale for up to $70 off plus an additional 5% reduction for RedCard holders. Two-day shipping will be offered for maximum models.
Walmart: Length and connectivity iterations of all nine Series available, many of which are on sale for up to $70 off. (Walmart is no longer a go-to store for Ultra 2 since its launch in September. )Shipping will be made for the maximum number of models.
Confirm that listings on Amazon and Walmart are from a third party by confirming that the Apple Watch is sold and shipped through Amazon or Walmart.
Leah Stodart is a Philadelphia-based Senior Shopping Reporter at Mashable where she covers essential home tech like vacuums and TVs as well as sustainable swaps and travel. Her ever-growing experience in these categories comes in clutch when making recommendations on how to spend your money during shopping holidays like Black Friday, which Leah has been covering for Mashable since 2017.
Leah graduated from Penn State University in 2016 with a double major in Sociology and Media Studies. When she’s not writing about buying groceries (or buying groceries online for herself), she’s almost watching a horror movie, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” or “The Office. “”You can follow her on X to @notleah or email her at [email protected].