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iPad Pro Share your posts for Smart Keyboard availability
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The status for my backordered Apple keyboard from Best Buy has now changed to "Preparing Your Item for Shipment". The original email said to expect it by December 22nd. I've got my fingers crossed to get it much sooner!
Apple Store in Wellington, FL had 2 keyboards on the shelf today around noon. I took one and when I went back after 3pm they were gone and they had none left in stock. They are coming to stores, but just like the pencil they leave just as quickly.
John Lewis in the UK have the keyboard in stock for next day delivery or collection... Just holding out for a UK layout
I missed yesterday's shipment at the Apple Store Stratford Westfield but popped in again today and they had more stock. My online order has been saying 4-5 weeks delivery for weeks now. It's worth checking local Apple Stores, the earlier in the day the better.
They also mentioned that you can do in-store pickup which is new in the UK and would guarantee you one, if you make sure to check stock shortly after opening hours.
They also mentioned that you can do in-store pickup which is new in the UK and would guarantee you one, if you make sure to check stock shortly after opening hours.
Nice! I'm jealous, mine is still showing "Preparing for Shipment". Aghhhh!
Edit: Mine finally shipped today. YESSSSSSSSSS!
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Just walked into a Best Buy here in Mesa, AZ and was suprised to see one smart keyboard left to buy! Quickly snagged it up
I just wonder how many preorders are still waiting for Apple's shipment?? It seems that BB got more keyboards ready than Apple...
Finally got my Apple Keyboard. Best Buy was supposed to ship it to store on Friday, but it arrived this evening. I can finally put aside the whole Apple Accessories saga. Thumbs down to Apple Retail, but thumbs up to Best Buy for coming through reliably and quickly.
Good luck everyone!
Good luck everyone!
Thank goodness my hunt for both the Pencil and the Smart Keyboard is over. Thanks to Apple Store's excellent business team.
Edit: Typing this on the Smart Keyboard now. It's nice to type on but I think it's also a bit noisy when my fingers hit on it. Surprisingly my Logitech Keys To Go seems to be better in this aspect. But so far I can achieve much faster typing speed on the Smart Keyboard than the Keys To Go. The spacing on the keys is a bit too much in my opinion. Apple could've make the keys bigger.
Edit: Typing this on the Smart Keyboard now. It's nice to type on but I think it's also a bit noisy when my fingers hit on it. Surprisingly my Logitech Keys To Go seems to be better in this aspect. But so far I can achieve much faster typing speed on the Smart Keyboard than the Keys To Go. The spacing on the keys is a bit too much in my opinion. Apple could've make the keys bigger.
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My Nov. 11 Apple Store order has not changed...still shows "Processing" Delivery Dec. 4th - Dec. 11th. Well, Dec. 4 is in two days....guess they are gonna miss that mark.
Meanwhile Best Buy is getting inventory, even online inventory, and shipping them.
Meanwhile Best Buy is getting inventory, even online inventory, and shipping them.
ive been against buying the keyboard this whole time and opted to do with silicon back and smart cover, but i'm not liking the smart cover and found myself wanting a keyboard now to make life easier...
are keyboards widely available these days? harder than getting a pencil?
are keyboards widely available these days? harder than getting a pencil?
The Smart Keyboard is harder than getting a pencil still. Probably will be for a couple/few weeks still.
That said, I've paired a Magic Keyboard with my iPad Pro and it works great. Nice stopgap until my Smart Keyboard comes in (ordered online, will be delivered 3rd week of December).
Today stepped into a Best Buy store to see if they happened to have keyboard as some have reported it might be available. They claimed to have had only one on Black Friday. I ended up picking up a silicone case and I got them to discount it 20 dollars and got 5% back for using my Best Buy card. At the end of the day paid 60. Much better price point than the 80. The discount came because they had all their silicone cases in the wrong place and advertising 59 dollar price on the shelf.
Best Buy delivered before Apple again. My Smart Keyboard from Apple wasn't supposed to show up until the end of the month, but Best Buy was able to get one for pick-up for me within a week of my order. It's kind of annoying that Best Buy was able to deliver both my Pencil and Smart Keyboard a good few weeks before I was even scheduled to recieve them from Apple.
PS: If you're used to the MacBook keyboard, and you like that one, you'll love this one. Types like a dream and I'm kinda wishing that I was back in college again so I could use this for notes in class rather than the software keyboard. LOVE THIS THING!
PS: If you're used to the MacBook keyboard, and you like that one, you'll love this one. Types like a dream and I'm kinda wishing that I was back in college again so I could use this for notes in class rather than the software keyboard. LOVE THIS THING!
The worst part about this process seems to be educating the store employees. One employee showed me nearby stock using his point of sale iPhone, and stock in the closest 10 stores was sold out (though he said when he looked a few minutes earlier a nearby store had a few). The next day an employee at the same store told me there is no way to check other stores. I mentioned the employee who showed me the prior day, and this guys told me there is just no way. He wouldn't even checkor ask someone.
I've also had about 80% of employees tell me that I should check online and if it's available I can reserve it. Of course the lack of that system for this item is widely known by those of us on here, so it's unclear why Apple's own employees don't know this.
While we're at it, I've heard from employees lots of conflicting things that are all wrong: they get new keyboards daily but people who reserve them online at 8 AM get dibs, no store has ever received them and they are only available online, they are not available period and set for release next year, and, my favorite, that the Logitech version is the Apple Smart Keyboard. I don't know if it's just the stores I'm visiting (So. Cal. area), the specific employees I've spoken to, or just institutional lack of training, but needless to say my experience has been pretty crappy. Between this, the pencil, the sudden drop of the IPP for sale, the watch release debacle, issues having to wait many days to get an appointment to fix my watch followed by a week of waiting for it to be replaced (vibration stopped), the iPhone 6S AUP debacle (I still don't know why I was rejected and I never will), I've basically had enough of Apple's customer service at this point. They still come through as the store that once was once in a while, but I've wasted countless hours lately trying to satisfy my Apple fandom. I'm pretty much over it.
I've also had about 80% of employees tell me that I should check online and if it's available I can reserve it. Of course the lack of that system for this item is widely known by those of us on here, so it's unclear why Apple's own employees don't know this.
While we're at it, I've heard from employees lots of conflicting things that are all wrong: they get new keyboards daily but people who reserve them online at 8 AM get dibs, no store has ever received them and they are only available online, they are not available period and set for release next year, and, my favorite, that the Logitech version is the Apple Smart Keyboard. I don't know if it's just the stores I'm visiting (So. Cal. area), the specific employees I've spoken to, or just institutional lack of training, but needless to say my experience has been pretty crappy. Between this, the pencil, the sudden drop of the IPP for sale, the watch release debacle, issues having to wait many days to get an appointment to fix my watch followed by a week of waiting for it to be replaced (vibration stopped), the iPhone 6S AUP debacle (I still don't know why I was rejected and I never will), I've basically had enough of Apple's customer service at this point. They still come through as the store that once was once in a while, but I've wasted countless hours lately trying to satisfy my Apple fandom. I'm pretty much over it.
The root cause of the poor retail experience is simply the supply chain. It's amazing how a several hundred billion dollar company is still having issues with getting enough supplies to satisfy their customers. I suppose it's a problem that many companies wish they had, but for the customer, it just means you can expect a crappy retail / online ordering experience if you want to be a first-time adopter of anything Apple launches.