Apple Watch Orders Will Remain Exclusively Online Through May, Deliveries Begin April 24

Apple retail chief Angela Ahrendts issued an internal memo to retail employees on Thursday that helps eliminate some of the confusion surrounding the launch of the wrist-worn device. The memo, a roughly translated copy of which was obtained by iGen.fr, states that Apple Watch orders will continue to be taken exclusively online through May and that deliveries will begin April 24 as planned.

“The feedback from customers is overwhelmingly positive. They are excited about Apple Watch, and your teams are creating fantastic experiences for them. Customers who pre-ordered will start receiving deliveries next Friday as planned, and I know you will do a great job helping set them up.

Many of you have been asking if we will have the Apple Watch available in stores on April 24 for walk-in purchases. As we announced last week, due to high global interest combined with our initial supply, we are only taking orders online right now. I’ll have more updates as we get closer to in-store availability, purpose we expect this to continue through the month of May.”

With no walk-in purchases of the Apple Watch available at Apple Stores until at least June, and product reservations for in-store pickup not available yet, it would appear that the Apple Watch’s upcoming April 24 launch day could be quieter than usual. The long lines that typically accompany an iPhone launch, for example, could be a lot shorter than usual at many Apple retail stores around the world.

Fortunately, disappointed customers can rest assured that Apple’s iconic lineups will not be going away forever. Ahrendts ensured in her memo to retail employees that not all Apple products will launch the same way as the Apple Watch, adding that both Apple and its customers love the long lines and that there will be many more of them to come in the future.

“I know this is a different experience for our customers, and has changed for you as well. Are we going to launch every product this way from now on? No. We all love those blockbuster Apple product launch days and there will be many more to come. They’re the times where you, our teams, shine. And our customers love them as well!”

Likely to reflect that many customers will not be receiving their pre-orders by April 24, and that in-store availability on launch day, if any, will be very limited, Apple changed the tagline on its website on late Wednesday to read “the Watch is coming” instead of “available 4.24.15″ as it previously showed. Apple Watch pre-orders began on April 10 at 12:01 AM Pacific and sold out in less than six hours.

Apple Confirms Sport Bands Include Three Pieces to Adjust Size [iOS Blog]

Apple has quietly updated the Apple Online Store to list that the Apple Watch Sport ships with one fluoroelastomer band that includes three pieces to make either a Small/Medium (S/M) or Medium/Large (M/L) strap.

The updated “what’s in the box” section confirms a TechCrunch report from last week that, “with very good authority,” claimed that the Apple Watch Sport would ship with a three-piece band.

It was initially believed that the Apple Watch Sport would ship with two separate bands for sizing purposes, leading to the creation of services such as BandSwapper that intended to allow customers to swap their unused bands for a different size or color. But Apple’s unique three-piece approach to the Sport band eliminates the chance that customers will be able to swap out their unused band.

Tim Cook Featured in TIME’s List of ‘100 Most Influential People’

Apple CEO Tim Cook has made TIME’s annual list of “the 100 most influential people” alongside several other notable celebrities, business executives, scientists, authors, healthcare professionals, iconic leaders and more.

Cook’s segment was written by John Lewis, a civil rights leader and Democratic Congressman from Georgia. The chief executive last made TIME‘s list in 2012, less than one year after the passing of Steve Jobs.

“It could not have been easy for Tim Cook to step into the immense shadow cast by the late Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs. But with grace and courage and an unabashed willingness to be his own man, Tim has pushed Apple to unimaginable profitability—and greater social responsibility. He is setting a new standard for what business can do in the world. Tim is unwavering in his support of an individual’s right to privacy and is not only embracing equality and LGBT rights but advocating for change through his words and actions. His commitment to renewable energy is also leaving our planet a little cleaner and a little greener for generations yet unborn.”

While not included in the list himself, Apple design chief Jonathan Ive also wrote a piece on Airbnb founder and fellow designer Brian Chesky, describing him as a “travel revolutionary” that has created a new way to build community through his startup. “Brian Chesky’s audacity is fabulous. He dares to believe that we shouldn’t be strangers, that we can have a sense of true belonging whenever, wherever we travel.”

Notable inclusions in the tech industry include YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun. Other highly recognizable names making the list include Emma Watson, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Hillary Clinton, Pope Francis, Tim McGraw and Vladimir Putin. Cook was also nominated for TIME‘s “Person of the Year” award in 2014.

Apple Partners With The Conservation Fund to Protect Working Forests, Ensure Paper Supplies [Mac Blog]

The Conservation Fund today announced that it has partnered with Apple to acquire over 36,000 acres of working forest in Maine and North Carolina, a move that will ensure both the continued health of the forests and Apple’s paper supplies.

“Apple is clearly leading by example—one that we hope others will follow,” said Larry Selzer, president and CEO of The Conservation Fund. “By all accounts, the loss of America’s working forests is one of our nation’s greatest environmental challenges. The initiative announced today is precedent-setting.”

The forests that Apple and The Conservation Fund are protecting are larger than the land area of the City of San Francisco. Through its commitment, Apple can ensure a steady supply of sustainably harvested timber to paper and pulp mills.

Apple vice president for environmental initiatives Lisa Jackson tells BuzzFeed that the move is the company’s latest effort to ensure the sustainability of its supply chain.

“Imagine if every time you opened a package from a company you knew that it came from a working forest. And imagine if companies took seriously their paper chain and made sure that was renewable, just like energy. And imagine if they didn’t just buy renewable paper, but took the step of ensuring that they would stay working forests forever.”

Apple has worked very hard over the years to exert as much control as it can over its supply chain in order to create a competitive advantage and ensure consistent supplies and pricing. With more recent forays into renewable energy production and now even paper, Apple is proving able to both secure its supply chain and demonstrate its commitment to environmental responsibility.

Apple Partners With SunPower Corporation to Build Two Solar Power Plants in China [Mac Blog]

Environmentally conscious solar panel manufacturer SunPower Corporation today announced a partnership with Apple that will result in two solar power projects totaling 40 megawatts in the “environmentally-preserved” ABA Region of China’s Sichuan Province.

Currently under construction, the projects will be split across two sites both eventually totaling 20 megawatts each. The first site, located in Hongyuan, is already generating 2 megawatts of power thanks to technology that includes single-axis tracking with rows of parabolic mirrors that reflect light onto SunPower’s “Maxeon” cells, “which are the world’s most efficient commercially available mass-produced solar cells.” The second project is located in Ruoergai County.

As the first solar powered projects deployed in the ABA Region, the combined sites are expected to churn out up to 80 million kilowatt-hours each year. Upon completion, each project will be co-owned by Apple and Sichuan Shengtian New Energy Development Co., Ltd, SunPower’s project development joint venture. Work on both sites is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2015.

Speaking with The Associated Press, Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president for environmental initiatives, discussed the new China-focused solar power project, suggesting the company’s partnership with SunPower in the region is only the start of a bigger environmentally-focused push by Apple.

“It’s important to us to tackle climate change everywhere we are,” Jackson told The Associated Press. “When you talk about China, you’re talking about manufacturing partners. We’re looking to bring the same innovation there. This is the start.”

“Before we go somewhere else and start asking and eventually requiring clean energy, you want to make sure you show folks how to do it,” said Jackson, who was U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator during President Barack Obama’s first term.

Apple and SunPower have collaborated stateside in the past, with six plants ranging from California to Nevada and North Carolina. Today’s announcements mark the first international solar power partnership between Apple and SunPower.

Next-Generation iPhones Could Adopt 7000 Series Aluminum Used in Apple Watch Sport

Apple’s next-generation iPhones could adopt 7000 Series aluminum used for the Apple Watch Sport, according to Taiwan’s Economic Daily News. The so-called “iPhone 6s” and “iPhone 6s Plus” would likely use Apple’s custom Series 7000 aluminum alloy, which is designed to be 60% stronger than most aluminum, and one-third the density of stainless steel, while still maintaining a light weight.

Apple elaborated in more detail about the Series 7000 aluminum it used for the Apple Watch Sport on its website, noting that each casing is machined, polished and blasted with microscopic zirconia beads to achieve a consistent satin texture found on each Apple Watch. An additional anodized outer layer helps protect against scratches and corrosion, while the anodizing process also makes possible Space Gray and Space Black variants.

For Apple Watch Sport, we started with 7000 Series aluminum — the same used in competition bicycles. We altered it to create a new alloy that’s just as light, yet even more durable — it’s 60 percent stronger than most aluminum, and one-third the density of stainless steel. It has a bright, lustrous colour and a uniform structure free of defects and impurities. Each case is machined and polished, then blasted with microscopic zirconia beads to achieve a consistent, satin texture. A special anodizing process creates a hard, clear outer layer that helps protect against scratches and corrosion.

Economic Daily News has a mixed track record at reporting on Apple’s upcoming plans, and the translated report does not offer many further details, so this rumor should be treated with a proverbial grain of salt. Nevertheless, it is common for Apple to introduce new features on one device before expanding to others. Force Touch, for example, was exclusive to the Apple Watch before making its way to MacBooks, and the technology is also rumored to be included in the next iPhone.