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An estimated 957,000 shoppers in the US alone ordered Apple Watches on Friday and this popularity surpassed expectations - even Apple's. 

In a leaked memo from the firm's Angela Ahrendts, the retail chief said that customers won't be able to buy an Apple Watch in store 'through the month of May' due to 'high global interest combined with our initial supply.'

It was expected to launch on 24 April.  

Ms Ahrendts added it had not been an easy decision and would provide more updates as the firm gets 'closer to in-store availability.'

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In a leaked memo from Apple's Angela Ahrendts the retail chief wrote: 'Due to high global interest combined with our initial supply, we are only taking orders online right now [and] we expect this to continue through the month of May.' It was expected to launch on 24 April

The memo was seen by Rhiannon Williams at The Telegraph.  

Pre-orders of the watch began on Friday at 12.01am PDT (8.01am BST) and within an hour many models in various regions had sold out including the most expensive 38mm gold Edition version in the US and Canada. 

Models were showing a shipping time of four to six weeks or, in some cases, June despite the watch going on general sale on 24 April.

It was initially believed that those who were willing to queue on 24 April would be able to buy the Watch before people who had pre-ordered.

But Ms Ahrendts memo has confirmed otherwise.  

'It's important to remember that Apple Watch is not just a new product but an entirely new category for us,' the memo continued. 

'There's never been anything quite like it. That's why, for the first time, we are previewing a new product in our stores before it has started shipping.

'Given the high interest and initial supply at launch, we will be able to get customers the model they want earlier and faster by taking orders online.'

She added that this isn't the way Apple intends to launch all new products form now on and it loves 'those blockbuster Apple product launch days', but told store employees to be prepared for the changes. 

On Friday many buyers reported Apple's site was still down after the launch time, forcing them to order the device through the Apple App Store on their phones or tablets.

As part of the first wave of pre-orders, the Watch can be bought online by people in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Hong Kong, China and Japan. 

The Watch also went on display in Apple stores across these regions, as well as in Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Isetan in Tokyo, Selfridges in London, and select Apple resellers in Japan and China.

Online pre-orders began on Friday at 12.01am PDT (8am BST) and although Apple said the devices will ship on 24 April within just an hour this had been pushed back to June. Buyers also reported the site was still down after the launch time, forcing them to order the device through the Apple App Store app

Ms Ahrendts added it had not been an easy decision and would provide more updates as the firm gets 'closer to in-store availability.' It was initially thought those who were willing to queue on 24 April would get the Watch in stores before people who had pre-ordered. But Ms Ahrendts' memo has confirmed otherwise

As with all Apple launches, the Californian tech giant took its store offline hours before the pre-order time to update its product pages. 

However, shortly after the pre-orders opened customers took to Twitter to complain the site was still down and they couldn't access the checkout.  

One said: 'Irritated that I stayed up until 3AM to pre-order an #AppleWatch and the site was down until after the May inventory already sold out.' 

And even after orders had been placed, some customers had trouble receiving confirmation details and delivery dates. 

One Twitter user wrote: '#AppleWatch ordered but no email confirmation and the 'orders' section on their site and app is down so I can't confirm it went through.'  

Another wrote: 'No way in hell am I preordering an #AppleWatch today when it won't ship until June.' and another added: 'There's an #AppleWatch for everyone.' Unless you want it before June.'

But for people who want to try on the Watch they can book an appointment online.

A MailOnline investigation earlier this week revealed that the UK is the most expensive place in the world to buy the majority of Apple Watch models. 

Apple's site and app still say the Watch is available from 24 April, but when a model is selected and added to the customer's online basket (pictured), this changes. A Sport model currently has a dispatch time of four to six weeks, while the Edition model has a June delivery date

DailyMail.com's Mark Prigg reviews the brand new Apple Watch

And for people who want to try on the Watch they can book an appointment online (pictured). The memo added this isn't the way Apple intends to launch all new products form now on and it loves 'those blockbuster Apple product launch days' but told store employees to prepare for the change

The most expensive Edition model costs up to £2,500 more in the UK compared to elsewhere in the world, while at the lower end of the scale British buyers pay up to £63 more for the Sport model. 

The cheapest model is the 38mm Sport version and costs £299 in the UK. In the US, the same model costs $349, but this doesn't include sales tax. 

Sales tax in the US depends on the region where the product is sold, but as an example California has one of the highest rates - at 9% - while Montana has zero. 

With both of these sales taxes added to the price of the Sports model in the US, the total cost works out at $380.41 (£257) and $349 (£236) in the respective states.

This is a difference of £42 when bought in California, compared to the UK, and £63 when compared to Montana. 

The effect is magnified for the top-of-the-range Edition version, which costs from £8,000 for the 38mm model in Britain, compared to a starting price of $10,000 in the US.

At the time of writing, $10,000 converts to £6,769 - which equates to a difference of £1,231 before charges are taken into account.

The most expensive version of the 38mm edition in the UK is £13,500 in the UK, and $17,000 in the US. 

When sales taxes are added to the US model, the price rises to $18,530 in California, which converts to £12,543 - a difference of £957.