Trying out Apple’s same-day delivery service in the UK
Apple expanded its same-day delivery service to the UK late last year, offering a delivery upgrade on eligible in-stock products which promises to have orders delivered within 2-hours of them being placed online.
Today, I decided to put Apple’s same-day service to the test by placing an order online and seeing just how quickly it gets delivered and if it’s within the 2-hour window Apple says.
I ordered the Apple Watch SE for my partner. With the gyms closed because of all that’s going on in the world right now, she’s turned to working out at home, so I thought the Apple Watch would be a great tool to help her track her progress and see what the wearable is all about.
The order was placed through the Apple Store app at 1:12 pm today (Saturday). Straightaway I got the usual Apple Store “We’re processing your order” email, this time showing that the delivery would be made today between 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm.
The local Apple Store, where this order was coming from, is only 4 miles away. It takes about 10 minutes to drive up there, so I was interested to see how quickly it would arrive at the door.
At 2:20 pm, just over an hour after the order was placed, I got a notification to say the Apple Watch had been collected and was on the way. At this point, I got excited because I’m so used to pre-ordering products and waiting for what feels like an eternity for them to arrive!
The Apple Store app gave me the name of the carrier, an option to contact them and a map, which I’m assuming was to track the courier on their way to make the delivery, however, it didn’t work and just showed me an overall map of the world. A little disappointing and potentially a bit of a problem, say if the carrier called to say they were lost and wanted directions, but ultimately it wasn’t the end of the world.
I got a notification 12 minutes later to say the carrier was arriving, and just like that, there was a knock at the door.
Overall it took 1 hour and 20 minutes from the moment I confirmed the order to it arriving at the door.
Would I recommend Apple’s same-day delivery service? Absolutely! It took about an hour for the courier to go and collect the order, which made me question if I’d get it in time, but when it was collected it came straight from the Apple Store to the house and I had notifications throughout to keep me updated, and ultimately, the order arrived less than an hour and a half after it was placed.
The same-day delivery upgrade costs £8. It is only available in selected areas right now, presumably towns and cities near to an Apple Store, and in my opinion, is well worth the extra charge.