The Apple Watch is no longer by appointment only

Apple wants customers to be able to walk into its stores and try on an Apple Watch without an appointment, reports 9to5Mac. This has been a requirement since the Apple Watch started selling in stores in April, but the company is apparently making it optional in order to streamline the retail experience. Previously, shoppers who wanted to try on the Apple Watch in store had to book an appointment online, entering their Apple ID and picking a time. But from this week it seems this is no longer compulsory, with London’s Covent Garden Apple store confirming the change in policy to The Verge.

Although plenty of anecdotal reports suggest that this appointment process was never strictly enforced, this move certainly implies that the company wants to make it easier for customers to get some hands-on time with the device. At the moment, the Apple Watch occupies a relatively hallowed space in the company’s stores, with assistants taking customers aside to offer them trays of bands and watch types. Dropping appointments seems designed to make this procedure less fussy and more egalitarian, while presumably aiming to sell more watches in the process.