The Apple Watch will be available to buy in Apple retail stores for the first time on June 26, the technology giant has confirmed.

Until now the Watch has only been available online, with limited stock in some fashion boutiques who partnered with Apple for the launch.

The news comes as Apple announced their first smartwatch would go on-sale in seven more countries, including Italy and Spain, from the same date.

The Watch will also go on sale in what the firm calls Apple Authorised Resellers. Jeff Williams, the Cupertino-based firm's senior vice president of operations said: "The response to Apple Watch has surpassed our expectations in every way, and we are thrilled to bring it to more customers around the world.

"We're also making great progress with the backlog of Apple Watch orders, and we thank our customers for their patience. All orders placed through May, with the sole exception of Apple Watch 42 mm Space Black Stainless Steel with Space Black Link Bracelet, will ship to customers within two weeks. At that time, we'll also begin selling some models in our Apple Retail Stores."

The Apple Watch first went on sale in April, but used a very different system that removed the traditional queues outside the company's official retail stores around the world on launch day. Instead, users were encouraged to buy online, and those who visited a physical store had to make appointments to try on a Watch before again making the purchase via Apple's online platform and having it delivered to them.

The Watch comes in three different styles, and starts at £299, but goes up to over £12,000 for the 18-karat gold Watch Edition version.