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Apple Retail

1,470 'Apple Retail' stories September 2010 - November 2015
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Apple operates more than 500 retail stores across the globe.

iphone 16 pro max apple store

Apple operates more than 500 retail stores in 22 countries. Under the direction of Deirdre O’Brien, Apple Stores are staffed by more than 70,000 team members and 3,000 Creative Pros. Here’s everything you need to know about Apple Retail including COVID-19 status, new store openings, and the latest news.

Table of contents

COVID-19: Changes to the Apple Store experience

Wondering about the status of your local Apple Store? Check out our COVID-19 Reopening Tracker, which includes a full map of open stores, health and safety procedures, and all the information you need to know before your visit.

Apple Stores: What makes them unique?

Beyond their award-winning architecture and landmark designs, Apple Stores are known for their focus on education and creativity. Over 250,000 free Today at Apple sessions were offered to the community each quarter prior to the pandemic. New stores are designed with a Video Wall and gathering area for Today at Apple known as the Forum. Older “classic” locations are being upgraded to accommodate the same experience.

Hours and locations: Where can I find details about my local Apple Store?

Apple’s website has a great tool for finding nearby locations and store hours; just type in your address or zip code to get started. You can learn more about the design and details of Apple Stores at The Apple Store Glossary.

Apple Store appointments: How can get I help?

If you’re having a problem with your device or want to shop with a knowledgeable Specialist, take the time to make an appointment before your Apple Store visit. If you need to make a Genius Bar appointment or contact Apple Support, visit Apple’s website. To schedule a shopping session, visit this link or open the Apple Store app.

The latest store openings and upgrades

Share your experience

If you attend a store opening, spot something interesting, or attend a great Today at Apple session, we’d love to see and share your photos.

Is Apple killing Black Friday or just outsourcing it to its retail partners?

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Nov 10 2015 - 7:44 am PT
9 Comments

One of the things Apple’s retail head Angela Ahrendts said in her interview with Fast Company‘s Rick Tetzei is that Apple had made the decision to back away from Black Friday sales because “being good to your employees will always be good for business.”

Rather than extending store hours for Black Friday events, or just turning the stores into even more crowded places during what has increasingly turned into Black November rather than just Black Friday, Ahrendts decided to give staff a break. That’s great and should be applauded but why not just do an online sale? Do the computers need the time off too?

Even more curious, Apple, who controls US retailer pricing, seems to be letting every US retailer knock huge amounts off of all Apple products for Black Friday…

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Apple’s Angela Ahrendts talks her relationship w/ retail employees, Black Friday, & more

Avatar for Chance Miller Nov 9 2015 - 3:17 pm PT
7 Comments

Ahead of her appearance at Bloomberg’s ‘Year Ahead’ business summit tomorrow, Apple’s SVP of Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts has today made an appearance at Fast Company’s Innovation Festival in New York City. Ahrendts sat down with Fast Company Editor at Large Rick Tetzei to discuss her role at Apple since joining the company in 2014…


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California judge dismisses class action suit against Apple over retail worker bag searches

Avatar for Chance Miller Nov 7 2015 - 10:20 pm PT
18 Comments

Nearly a year ago, a federal judge dismissed a class action lawsuit Apple employees filed against the company for wages they lost while standing in bag-check lines for 10 to 15 minutes before and after their shifts. The case, however, lived on in California. Until today, that is. According to a report out of Bloomberg, a San Francisco judge has today sided with Apple in the case, saying employees could have easily avoided the checks.


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Angela Ahrendts set to speak at Bloomberg’s ‘Year Ahead’ business summit next week

Avatar for Zac Hall Nov 2 2015 - 7:28 am PT
0 Comments

Angela Ahrendts, SVP Retail and Online Stores, is the latest Apple executive to make a public conference appearance this fall. Bloomberg announced today that Ahrendts is set to speak at its third annual ‘The Year Ahead’ business summit happening next week. Michael Bloomberg will open the two-day event on Monday, November 9, in New York City. Angela Ahrendts’s appearance follows the next day at Park Hyatt where Apple’s evolving retail strategy is likely to be a focus of the conversation.
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These Mac, iPod, & Beats products are losing Apple repair support, moving to ‘obsolete’ status in December

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Oct 30 2015 - 3:17 pm PT
8 Comments

As it does regularly with older products, Apple is about to move a bunch of Macs, iPods, and accessories to obsolete status, meaning the products will no longer be eligible for service or repair support through Apple retail stores or authorized third-party channels. So if you happen to have one of these products and need a hardware repair of some kind, you’ll have until early December to do so at an Apple Store or authorized service provider. 

The Macs getting the axe this time around include:
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You can buy the Apple TV from today in Apple Stores, Best Buy, MacMall & other retailers

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 30 2015 - 4:11 am PT
20 Comments

Apple has confirmed our report that the Apple TV is available in its retail stores from this morning, with Best Buy, MacMall and Target also having limited stock available for pickup starting today.

Apple has sent an email to some customers promoting the 4th-generation Apple TV as ‘the future of television,’ highlighting apps, Siri remote and the new user interface. Apple’s email contains links to both the online store and retail store-finder.

If you’re planning to pick one up, you’ll need to choose between the two models available … 
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Apple’s giant flagship Dubai & Abu Dhabi stores in UAE officially open [Photos & Video]

Avatar for Zac Hall Oct 29 2015 - 8:48 am PT
25 Comments

Apple’s giant new Dubai Apple Store at the Mall of the Emirates has officially opened its doors today as scheduled. Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s head of retail, tweeted the photo above showing the new store’s staff that will be able to “serve in 26 languages.” Ahrendts previously shared multiple photos showing off Apple’s latest flagship retail stores (below) in Dubai and Abu Dhabi which both open today.
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Apple refuses to sell Adele’s new album as a physical CD in Apple retail stores

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Oct 29 2015 - 7:22 am PT
16 Comments

Adele has been turned down by Apple as the company is refusing to sell her new album in its stores. Whilst that may sound surprising, it turns out Apple actually declined from stocking physical CD album copies of her album in Apple retail stores as per Adele’s representative’s request (according to The Daily Mail). Apple declining to stock physical media … shocking right?

For the company that revolutionized digital music and released a streaming music service with much fanfare earlier in the year, it’s quite hilarious that a top artist’s team even tried such a request. You can, of course, get the debut single ‘Hello’ from Apple’s digital stores including Apple Music … but getting the Apple Store to sell physical media, especially when practically none of its products include optical disk drives, is a step too far in the past.


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A look inside what’s reported to be the world’s largest Apple Store, in Dubai (Video & photo gallery)

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 27 2015 - 5:58 am PT
23 Comments

Last month in Brussels gave us our first look at the all-new Apple Store design after Jony Ive and his team went to work, and today we can see what looks very much like a carbon copy of that look in the new Dubai store set to open on Thursday.

We see the same indoor trees and huge screen as seen in Brussels, but on a much larger scale. Gulf News, which took the photos below, says that the store is still being reported to be the world’s largest Apple Store, overtaking London’s Covent Garden, though it notes that “at first appearance” it looks smaller than expected … 
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Apple Stores will send some iPhone 6/6s phones for off-site repairs, offering 16GB loaners

Avatar for Mark Gurman Oct 26 2015 - 9:01 am PT
27 Comments

In an effort to reduce wait times at Genius Bars within Apple Stores, Apple this week will launch a new repair program for the iPhone 6, 6s, 6 Plus and 6s Plus in select stores across the United States, Europe, and Japan, according to several employees. Rather than completing all repairs in store, the new program will allow Apple Store Genius Bars to determine that these phones should be shipped to an off-site repair center if the issue falls into one of three categories:


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Email suggests Singapore will get its first Apple Store late next year on Orchard Road

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 26 2015 - 7:11 am PT
0 Comments

Pure Fitness has sent an email to its customers reporting that its branch at 170 Orchard Road in Singapore will be closing at the end of the year to make way for a new Apple Store set to open in late 2016, reports TechInAsia.

Pure and other tenants will be handing back space to make way for the opening of a new Apple store in late 2016.

It made the same statement in a later press release. While this is an unconfirmed report, the location would make sense … 
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Microsoft says iPhone users welcome in Apple Store-like 5th Ave Microsoft Store

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 26 2015 - 5:06 am PT
11 Comments

After setting up shop just a few blocks away from Apple’s signature retail store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, Microsoft says that iPhone users will be welcome to drop into the new Microsoft Store opening today, reports the NY Times.

“If you bring your iPhone in here, I’d love to show you how to use Office on it,” said Kelly Soligon, senior director of retail stores marketing at Microsoft.

While the piece notes that previous Microsoft Stores have seen few visitors, the company is hoping that its recently-launched Surface Books will change that.

Photo: Engadget

NY Apple Store employee charged with using fraudulent card details to buy almost $1M worth of Apple gift cards

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 21 2015 - 6:07 am PT
10 Comments

A former Apple Store employee has been charged with grand larceny and other crimes after allegedly using fraudulent credit and debit card details to purchase an incredible $997,000 worth of Apple gift cards in just three months.

24-year-old Ruben Profit is accused of carrying out the fraudulent purchases while working at the Apple Store in the Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst, the company’s first retail store in Queens. All of the purchases were made between August and October, reports NBC New York … 
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One of the world’s largest Apple Stores opening in Dalian, China, this weekend [Gallery]

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 19 2015 - 5:18 am PT
4 Comments

Apple has announced the grand opening of its latest retail store in China, this one in the city of Dalian, a major port and financial center. The store opens at 9.30am on Saturday 24th October.

The store, located in the six-storey Parkland Mall shown above and below, has been a long time coming. It was first announced way back in 2012, when the mall boasted that it would be “Apple’s World’s Biggest Flagship Store.” That claim is almost certainly out of date now, with the Dubai store set to open later this month rumored to be taking that title, but it is still likely to be one of the largest stores in the world … 
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Flagship Apple Stores get touch-sensitive tables to promote iPhone 6s 3D Touch

Avatar for Mike Beasley Oct 16 2015 - 3:22 pm PT
14 Comments

Two Apple Stores in New York and San Francisco have gained a new promotional tool to help sell the iPhone 6s. Shoppers visiting these Apple Stores will find a new kind of table with a large display across the surface that’s used for showing off the iPhone 6s.

As you can see in the video below, the table displays a water animation that responds to the 3D Touch sensors on the iPhone demos. When a user force presses the wallpaper to trigger the fish animation, the “water” beneath the phone ripples.


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‘ifo Apple Store’ creator Gary Allen, “Apple’s biggest fan,” dies aged 67

Avatar for Jeremy Horwitz Oct 15 2015 - 7:50 am PT
11 Comments

Gary Allen, creator of the now-defunct but historic web site ifo Apple Store, died Sunday at age 67, reports The Washington Post. ifo Apple Store tracked Apple Store retail openings and changes from their earliest days, when the Stores were considered by some to be a risky gamble, until well after the Stores had become ubiquitous in higher-end shopping malls and profoundly lucrative for Apple. Allen’s articles discussed opened stores, as well as details about unannounced stores that were expected to open in the future.

Having announced in March that he was shuttering ifo Apple Store based on increasingly widespread reporting on Apple Store openings and changes, Allen was actually suffering from brain cancer, his brother confirmed to the Post. During the years he ran ifo Apple Store, Allen traveled to over 140 new Store openings across the country and internationally, notably including locations in Europe and China. ifo Apple Store’s site currently reads “Please come back later,” without links to its past content.

Abu Dhabi and Dubai Apple Stores set to open on October 29

Avatar for Cam Bunton Oct 15 2015 - 3:22 am PT
6 Comments

UPDATE: We were sent some images of the Abu Dhabi store in its current boarded-up state, confirming the grand opening date. Thanks, @7Alsabe:

Apple is set to open its first two retail stores in United Arab Emirates in the next couple of weeks. Apple will host a grand opening in Dubai and Abu Dhabi on October 29 for the new Apple Stores, one of which is rumored to be the biggest Apple Store in the world. The company updated its store locations page recently to include the two stores in UAE, announcing the openings of both stores…


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Apple officially launches Hermès Watch collection, with options starting from $1100

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Oct 5 2015 - 7:44 am PT
18 Comments

If you haven’t yet found your perfect Apple Watch strap among the company’s own offerings or the numerous third-party options, Apple has today officially launched its partnership with French leather fashion company Hermès.

Uncompromising craftsmanship. Pioneering innovation. Groundbreaking functionality. Apple Watch Hermès is the culmination of a partnership based on parallel thinking, singular vision and mutual regard. It is a unique timepiece designed with both utility and beauty in mind. With leather straps handmade by Hermès artisans in France and an Hermès watch face reinterpreted by Apple designers in California, Apple Watch Hermès is a product of elegant, artful simplicity — the ultimate tool for modern life.

Splashing out between $1100 and $1500 gets you a special version of the stainless steel Watch, with Hermès branding on the back, a number of special watch faces and a choice of three leather straps. Color options depend on the strap, some with suitably exotic-sounding names … 
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Apple describes its first store in Europe as “tired and outdated” as it joins the queue for a refresh

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Sep 30 2015 - 4:52 am PT
6 Comments

A planning application to refresh the design of Apple’s Regent Street store in London describes the current look as “tired and outdated” as it joins the queue to see a major redesign. This is expected to be broadly in line with the new look first seen in Brussels when it opened two weeks ago, overseen by Jony Ive in his new role as Apple’s Chief Design Officer.

The status of the building as ‘listed’ (historically protected) will limit the exterior changes the company is allowed to make, but the four Apple logos in the windows will be removed to allow in more light, reports the Evening Standard.

The brief looked to re-imagine the overall customer experience within the store and address a tired and outdated interior sales area […] Part of the proposed works is also removing the four Apple Logos from the Regent Street facade. This assists with natural light penetrating the retail floor and preserves the historic character of the facade.

The upper floor will be set back from the front of the building, to allow more light into the ground floor. The existing glass staircase will also be removed and replaced with ““two new dramatic staircases,” which we assume to be the spiral designs seen in many Apple Stores. The store first opened in 2004, and has seen only limited interior refreshes since then.

As with the Brussels store, the redesign will be carried out by Foster & Partners, the architects behind London’s famous Gherkin building. It’s not known when the work will be completed, the planning approval being valid for up to three years.

Samsung tries to sell its phones to … people in an Apple Store queue for an iPhone 6s

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Sep 25 2015 - 4:08 am PT
57 Comments

So, you’re Samsung. You want to try to sell some phones. You need to find some potential customers. You draw up lists of potential targets, and right at the bottom, in billionth place, are Apple fans so dedicated that they’ve queued up outside an Apple Store to buy the shiny new iPhone 6s. So where does Samsung go? Yep, to the Apple Store in London’s Regent Street, complete with backpack-mounted banners, reports The Enquirer. And it gets worse … 
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Apple Store app on iOS updated with iPhone 6s support, iOS 9 bug fixes

Avatar for Chance Miller Sep 24 2015 - 2:43 pm PT
1 Comment

As the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus gradually become available around the world, Apple this evening has rolled out an update to the Apple Store app on iOS. The update brings the app to version 3.5 and includes a couple of minor changes.

First off, Apple says the update is an “iOS compatibility update,” meaning that it fixes any issues that may have arisen with the launch of iOS 9 to the public last week and the subsequent release of iOS 9.0.1. Furthermore, the update adds support for the iPhone 6s. At this point, it’s unclear what specifically this means. We’ll have to wait until we get our hands on an iPhone 6s tomorrow to be sure, but it could mean support for features like 3D Touch. Or it could something more minor, such as simple compatibility updates.

Nevertheless, the latest version of the Apple Store app for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store now for free.

iPhone 6s launch day kicks off as customers queue up around the world

Avatar for Zac Hall Sep 24 2015 - 1:00 pm PT
11 Comments

via <a href="https://twitter.com/iPhonemods/status/647119325090807808" target="_blank">Twitter</a>

While at least one person in the United States has already received their iPhone 6s after pre-ordering with the rest of us, iPhone 6s launch day has officially kicked off on the other side of the planet. The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus go on sale at 8 am local time in a dozen markets around the world. New Zealand goes first at authorized resellers as there are no Apple Stores in the country, then the first Apple Stores in Australia two hours later, followed Japan and China and others before starting in the United States 16 hours from the start.

Earlier this week, all models and configurations of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus became sold out online for pre-ordering with launch day delivery. The larger iPhone 6s Plus models were among the first to sell out for launch day, although that may be in part due to display production issues and not just demand. Still, Apple Stores and carriers alike will have limited launch day inventory if you’ve waited and decide to take a gamble at getting the model you want.

Do you plan to queue up outside your Apple Store for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus this year or did you send your robot instead? Send your launch day photos to tips@9to5mac.com and check out the scenes below as you await your new iPhone.
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Apple Stores switching to gray shirts tomorrow alongside iPhone launch

Avatar for Mike Beasley Sep 24 2015 - 8:47 am PT
15 Comments

With tomorrow’s launch of the iPhone 6s, Apple will also be debuting a new look for its retail employees. According to a tipster, Apple Store workers will be sporting a new (space?) gray shirt, replacing the well-known blue versions that helped employees stand out in crowded stores.

A photo of the new shirt is included below, via our tipster.

Update: And here they are:

[tweet https://twitter.com/AngelaAhrendts/status/647416552724168704 align=’center’]

The 4th person in the iPhone 6s queue at one Apple Store is an iPad-based robot

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Sep 24 2015 - 6:39 am PT
13 Comments

Queuing at Apple Stores versus ordering online is one of those great divides. Those who queue describe it as an unmissable social experience, while those who order online see queueing as a way to get cold and wet while not getting your iPhone any earlier. But one enterprising woman in Sydney, Australia, has found a way to combine the two: fourth in the queue is her iPad-based telepresence robot … 
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