Apple Retail

Apple has released a new version of its Apple Store app for iPhone and iPad with a new app icon included. Features include recommendations based on which Apple devices you own, better in-store alerts, and when favorited products are available in stores you’re visiting.

Expand
Expanding
Close

I’ve always imagined that working in an Apple Store is one of those jobs where you see it all, and a Thrillist interview with three anonymous staff members confirms that – rather literally.

The stuff that would pop up on people’s computers when we would do a data migration… when the photos imported into iPhoto, it would flash each photo on the screen as it was importing. So. Many. ****. Pics. Some things just can’t be unseen.

Not all of the stories they tell sound quite as credible, but one of them did have a great tip if you’re looking to get a free replacement for a damaged product without AppleCare Plus …

Expand
Expanding
Close

In a report by Bloomberg, Apple is said to be preparing an update to its iOS Apple Store app, where customers can buy Apple’s hardware and accessories online. The new update will feature recommendations for suggested purchases, in a new ‘For You’ tab (mirroring Apple Music).

The privacy implications of the move are unclear; Apple will use a customer’s purchase history to suggest additional relevant products for them to buy, a tactic already heralded by most other online stores like Amazon. For example, if a user buys a set of Philips Hue lightbulbs, the app may also suggest adding other smart lighting HomeKit products to their cart, from the same range as well as other brands like the Lutron light systems, for instance.

Expand
Expanding
Close

The first Apple Store in Singapore looks set to open in November, according to a construction works plate on the site. The plate says that the anticipated completion date of the additions and alterations to the building is 31st October, suggesting that it is likely to open sometime the following month …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Six New York residents were charged today after authorities discovered they were attempting to make fraudulent purchases at various Apple retail locations in the Chicago area. According to the Chicago Tribune, the six people were charged in “an organized criminal enterprise.”

Expand
Expanding
Close

Earlier this week 9to5Mac reader Matthew shared that the scaffolding has come down around the anticipated location of the first Brooklyn Apple Store, and today Apple has updated its website with official grand opening details. The Williamsburg Apple Store opens next Saturday on July 30th at 10am local time. The latest New York City location can be found at 247 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn.

Expand
Expanding
Close

We’ve been hearing conflicting reports on whether or not Apple will be allowed to open retail stores in India ever since Tim Cook met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last September. A new Bloomberg report suggests that Modi may be about to finally give the go-ahead.

While India is currently a very small market for Apple, Cook has repeatedly described the country as the next China. The huge population and growing middle-class means that India has enormous future potential for Apple, but a law has so far prevented the company from opening official Apple Stores there …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple today has drastically simplified the iPhone trade-in program that allows eligible smartphones to be traded in for credit towards the purchase of a future device. Today’s changes allow customers to use the trade-in credit to help lower the cost of the a new iPhone purchase or to reduce monthly payments made to a carrier.

Expand
Expanding
Close

If you’re looking for something to entertain kids aged 8-12 over the summer, and the chance for them to learn some useful tech skills into the bargain, you may want to register them for this year’s Apple Camp. Apple holds annual workshops at its retail stores intended to help kids make creative use of technology. This year’s workshops are focused on coding & robotics, movie-making and story-telling.

Campers can work with visual blocks and solve puzzles while programming Sphero robots. They can learn filmmaking skills: storyboarding, shooting video, and editing soundtracks. Or they can create interactive books complete with their own illustrations and sound effects. At Apple Camp, kids and their creativity are the heroes … 

Expand
Expanding
Close

Opening Apple Stores in India has been something of a challenge for the company. The law normally requires companies to manufacture at least 30% of their products within India before they can open a single-brand store under a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rule, but TNW is reporting that a decision to liberalize the FDI deal will finally provide the go-ahead for Apple Stores.

Apple will likely be allowed to avoid sourcing products locally for eight years – three years as per the new norms and an additional five years if it can prove it deals in ‘state-of-the-art’ and ‘cutting-edge’ technology that’s unavailable in the country.

If confirmed, the ruling will be an important one for Apple, which Tim Cook has described as the next China. An eight-year deal does, however, seem unlikely …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Thieves dressed as Apple Store staff have stolen a total of $66,000’s worth of iPhones in two separate thefts at retail stores in New York. Apple’s Upper West Side store was targeted back in March, when 67 iPhones worth almost $50k were stolen, followed by the theft of 19 phones worth $16k from the SoHo store last week.

Police now believe that the same thieves may be responsible for both. The criminals seemed to have done their research well, notes Gizmodo …

Expand
Expanding
Close

After our attempt at explaining the 500% markup on Apple’s new solar array yesterday, further information has now confirmed that Apple’s new stores – starting in the brand new San Francisco location – will be utilizing a new walkable solar glass floor technology for electricity generation. According to a document on Onyx Solar’s website, Apple “has decided to commit itself to OnyxSolar’s designer photovoltaic technology for its new stores. The first of these is located in the heart of San Francisco, the company’s home town.”
Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple and its retail chief Angela Ahrendts today previewed the company’s brand new San Francisco retail store at Union Square ahead of an official grand opening this weekend.

“Fifteen years ago today Apple opened its first two stores and we’re thrilled to mark the occasion with the opening of Apple Union Square in San Francisco,” said Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail and Online Stores. “We are not just evolving our store design, but its purpose and greater role in the community as we educate and entertain visitors and serve our network of local entrepreneurs.”

The images above and below were shared online today by @harrymcracken, @panzer and others attending the preview event for press. The new store features a number of new design elements, including changes to the layout for its Genius Bar that will be known as “Genius Grove” at the new store, and a number of new specialized areas throughout. 

Expand
Expanding
Close

According to a new report from LA Business Journal, Apple is in the process of securing real estate space for a new store in Los Angeles. The store will reportedly be located at the historic Tower Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, which could help revitalize the area’s retail business as a whole.

The Apple Store would be located at 800 S. Broadway, although specific details regarding the size of the store are still unclear. Additionally, it’s unknown how much Apple is paying for this retail space. Currently, there is over 250,000-square-feet of vacant retail space on Broadway between First Street and Olympic Boulevard, so Apple likely isn’t paying an extraordinary amount of money for the space.

Expand
Expanding
Close

As rumored late last year, Apple has now added a dedicated accessibility accessories category to its online store. As Amvsement noted, Apple currently offers a total of 15 products, addressing the three areas of vision, physical & motor skills, and learning & literacy.

For those who are blind or partially sighted, Apple offers two different braille displays which serve as both screen-readers and control keyboards. For those with motor skills impairment, products include an over-sized trackball and a wide variety of switches to trigger functions on a Mac or iOS device. Devices for learning disabilities include a ‘tactile musical interface’ to provide a fun way to create music …

Expand
Expanding
Close